We Are Broken
by Lucy Greenhill
Summary: He was supposed to be dead, yet, there he was... A very mysterious and beautiful girl arrives at Forks High. Who is she and what does she have to do with Jasper's past? And how will she affect the Cullen's future? Discontinued.
1. Prologue: Turning Point

Prologue: Turning Point

**Disclaimer for the whole story: As much as I regret it, I don't own anything!**

People said turning points were certain moments in life when important people were forced to make an important decision that would have tremendous repercussions in the whole world. I didn't agree. I thought life was full of them and that every choice we made was one. Who would've thought the decision of moving to that small town in particular would become a turning point in my life? I mean, I've been moving from town to town for more than I would have liked. I could have chosen any place in the world but, somehow, I ended up there, and my life was never the same after that.

I couldn't believe my eyes. Ever since I woke up from my transformation I always trusted my senses more than I trusted myself. Now, I didn't know if my mind was playing tricks on me or if I had finally lost it. Could vampires go crazy? I wasn't sure, but it wouldn't be the first time something unusual happened around me, even by vampire standards.

Anyway, this couldn't be real. He was dead. I knew it, and what was harder, I had accepted it decades ago. It couldn't be real; he wasn't real. This was just my mind wanting me to suffer even more than I did when we were told the news of his sudden disappearance. He was dead, period.

However, he was slightly different from what I remembered. His skin was like alabaster; his body, more defined and muscled; and his eyes weren't the clear blue I remembered them to be, but a dark shade of gold, just like mine.

What if…? No. I couldn't allow myself to hope. Nothing had managed to kill me - if there was something inside of me that could die - in the long decades of this existence, but hope would surely be able to. I always knew hope was the most dangerous thing to have. It gave you strength to go on but, if you somehow lost it, you could loose yourself as well.

Still, there he was, staring at me the same way I was at him; his eyes filled with shock and recognition. And he wasn't the only one looking. I could feel three other sets of eyes on my face, all of different shades of gold, filled with curiosity. I had picked up their scent from the moment I set foot in that place but, being the fearless and reckless person I was, I didn't back out when I realised I was outnumbered; I was too confident of my abilities and I knew they wouldn't be able to tell what I was.

"Are you alright?" the brown haired girl next to me asked, gazing at me in concern.

Was I? I doubt that. Either I had lost my mind and was seeing things that weren't really there or he wasn't dead like I thought so… No! He was gone! I couldn't let myself hope; I wouldn't. I hadn't seen him in over a hundred years. If he had been alive, he would've come back for me. He wouldn't have left me alone.

"I'm fine," I replied softly and noticed how his eyes grew wider when he heard my voice and recognised it. I turned to face the girl in front of me. She was new in town, just like I was. She was definitely pretty, with dark brown hair that contrasted with her creamy skin and chocolate brown eyes. She slightly shorter than me, about two inches less than my average 5'6. From the corner of my eye, I noticed how he and the others with him stood from their places and started approaching me. "I have to use the bathroom, I'll be back in a sec."

I got out of the cafeteria at a human pace, trying as hard as I could to avoid attracting any unwanted attention towards myself. Ha! As if! At least half of the male population was staring at me before I made my grand exit and, at my sudden change of mood, even more people turned to look at me, the new girl at school. I hastily made my way towards my vehicle, hoping that they wouldn't try and follow me. Fat chance! A few yards away from my car, I heard them behind me, walking at human speed.

"Hold on!" he begged, his voice different than I remembered from my human memories, but still holding something familiar in it.

Should I run? Should I hide? No. That wasn't me. I wasn't a coward; I was brave, adventurous and, above all, I was strong. I hadn't cried once since the night I was told of his disappearance. Not when I was being transformed and my body burned from within. Not when I had to watch my friends die one by one. Not even when I left behind everything I once thought was the only things that meant something to me.

Besides, what was the worse thing that could happen? I could get into a fight with them? So what? I wasn't scared of anything, they were no match for me.

So, why was I still afraid? I didn't fear what any of them could do to me physically, for sure. But, what if he didn't want to see me? What if he wasn't happy to have found me, the way I was? What if he didn't remember me? After all, may vampires lost some of their human memories after their transformations. I wouldn't be able to deal with that kind of pain, emotional pain.

But, if I didn't face him and run away, I would hate myself forever. My life would be filled with regret for throwing away the opportunity to see him again. I wouldn't be able to live with the doubt of what would have happened if I had faced my fears either.

No. I wouldn't run, I had made my mind. Sighing, I turned around to face their shocked faces. I guess he told them who he thought I was.

"Hello, Jasper."

**A/N: Okay, new story! The idea was wandering around my mind for a long time and the only way to get it out was writing it, so here it is… I'd love to know what you think! Should I go on with it? Please review and tell me! xoxo**


	2. Believe In Me

Chapter 1: Believe In Me

_**1861**_

"I won't be gone for a long time," he reassured me once again as I stood there, wrapped in his strong arms, crying into his shoulder. "I promise I'll come back soon."

"But Jasper, you can't go," I protested, pouting childishly.

"Why not?" he asked, running his calloused hand across my blond hair that cascaded down my back.

"You're not old enough to join the army," I said knowingly. "You have to be at least twenty and you're not even seventeen."

"And you're not old enough to understand what you're talking about," he scolded gently, kissing my forehead.

"Yes I am," I complained. "I'm twelve Jasper, I know what I'm talking about."

He laughed, as he gently hugged me to his side once more before dropping me playfully on my bed and tucking me in. "No you're not. Now, be a good girl and behave while I'm gone, alright?"

"Jazzy, please don't go," I begged uselessly once again, clinging to his neck with my thin arms and refusing to let go of him.

"I have to," he insisted, trying to loosen my grip on him carefully, so he wouldn't hurt me.

"No you don't," I argued persistently. "Stay with me."

"I'm sorry sweetie," he whispered, his blue eyes, the same shade as mine, sad for having to refuse my pleads. "I'll come back as soon as I can."

"You promise?" I asked doubtfully, my childish voice soft and broken after all the crying I had done.

"I promise," he said sincerely. "I won't go anywhere without you."

He planted a kiss on my forehead once again before leaving my room without looking back. I hoped with all my heart that he would be fine. I needed him to come back. Even when he was older than me for more than four years, we were closer than any other siblings could be. It wasn't that our parents left us aside or anything, but Jazzy always knew when I was feeling down and what to do to make it better. He was my best friend and I was his favourite girl. We were practically inseparable; until now. When I woke up the following morning, he was gone.

I remember getting up to see a beautiful day waiting for me outside. But I didn't care. What use would it be if there was no one I wanted to share it with? I got dressed in a simple, white dress and went downstairs to have breakfast and talk to my parents.

"Good morning, Nicole," my mother greeted warmly, knowing that I would be downcast because of Jasper's departure. She was eating her breakfast, dressed in a pretty creamy coloured dress. Even when she was nearing her forties, my mother was a beautiful woman. Her hair was the prettiest shade of light brown I had ever seen and she had the sapphire blue eyes both Jazz and I shared.

"Hi mum. Hi dad," I said sadly as I hugged both of them briefly and sat in my usual seat.

"Hello, Nicole. How are you feeling?" he asked, a glimpse of concern in his green eyes. John Whitlock was also a handsome man, very similar to my brother, except for his eyes, which were of a different colour. Like my father, Jasper and I had honey blond hair, a shade or two lighter than my mother's.

"I'll be fine," I lied, not wanting him to suffer more than he already was. After all, it was hard enough to have a son going away to get involved in a war that could end up with him getting killed. He didn't need to share my worries as well.

"I know that you miss him, sweetheart, we all do," my mother, Mary Jane Whitlock said as she placed her arm around my shoulders in a comforting manner. "But he wanted to do this and he'll be okay, I'm sure."

"I know he will," I sighed as a tear escaped my eyes and rolled down my cheek. "I just want him back."

"He'll be back soon," my father assured me, joining my mum and kissing me on the temple. "But you can't stay like this until he does. Go play with your friends, have fun and I can promise that time will go faster."

I hesitated for a minute, but ended up smiling at him and nodding. "I will, dad," I agreed.

"Good," my mum smiled. "But before you go out to play, you should eat your breakfast first."

"Alright," I huffed, my bright mood back. My dad was right. It was no use moping all day because Jasper was gone and I was sure he would be pretty mad if he returned and he found out I acted like that all the time he was gone. I finished my breakfast as quickly as I could and ran out of the kitchen, under my parent amused looks. "I'll go play with Lizzie," I yelled over my shoulder as I got out of the house and made my way towards her house.

My best friend, Elizabeth Darcy, lived a few blocks from my house and, like mine, her family was one of the wealthiest in town. She was a nice and rather shy girl, with dark hair and eyes, and a year older than me. Even though, most of the times, she acted more like my mother than my best friend, due to my recklessness and her maturity, we were always as close as sisters. She was an only child and, very often, she would stay over at my house or me at hers. Both my parents and hers were used to these sleepovers that were decided out of the blue. Her parents were really nice people and treated me like a second daughter, as did mine with Lizzie.

I skipped the few steps up to her doorstep and knocked on the door. Not a minute later, a servant opened and waited for me to introduce myself. It was obvious she was new or she would have allowed me in like every other servant did when they saw me.

"I am Nicole Whitlock and I am here to see Miss Elizabeth Darcy," I told her in a formal way.

"Are you expected, Miss Whitlock?" she asked suspiciously.

"Let her in, Cynthia," the familiar voice of Mrs. Macready, the housekeeper, commanded from the inside. "She's a frequent visitor."

The girl named Cynthia, that couldn't be older than twenty-five, stepped to one side and allowed me inside the house, while Mrs. Macready smiled welcomingly at me from the top of the staircase.

"Welcome, Miss Whitlock. You wish to speak to Miss Darcy, I presume?" she asked professionally.

"Is she at home?" I asked out of politeness, as I knew she was sure to be in her room at this time of the day.

"Of course she is," the older woman said, leading me to the drawing room where my friend was plating the piano. She was an excellent performer. I, on the other hand, never had the coordination necessary to play any instrument, but I loved singing and reading. I waited patiently until she finished and the approached her from behind, trying to surprise her.

"Hello, Nicole," she greeted, turning around to face me with a knowing smile on her face. I never managed to catch her by surprise and scare her and I was getting frustrated because of it.

"Hi," I mumbled angrily, making my friend laugh happily.

"You're never going to scare me, so why don't you give up already?" she asked calmly, smiling broadly.

"Because if I give up I'll never succeed," I replied wisely, causing my friend to shake her head in exasperation.

"As you like it," she gave up, motioning for me to sit with her in the piano stool. "From the top?"

"Sure," I shuddered as my friend began playing and I started singing along, my soft, soprano voice melting with the vibrant notes of her piano, creating a beautiful melody.

"So, what's up?" she asked, as the final notes of the song trembled in the air.

"What's up with what?" I asked, playing dumb.

"With you, Nikki," she clarified. "I know you better than I know myself, so please tell me what's wrong with you."

"Jasper left," I confessed, lowering my head so that she wouldn't see my tear-filled eyes

"I'm sorry," she told me, knowing instantly what I was referring to. I had been talking to her the whole week about Jasper's decision to join the confederate army and she already knew how I felt about it. "I know it's hard, but he'll be fine.""Why does everyone keep saying that?" I snapped angrily. "You don't know if he'll be fine. There's a war going on out there and he could easily end up dead! He has no experience and he's not even old enough to fight! What if something happens to him? What if he doesn't come back?"

Instead of yelling at me like every other person would have done, Lizzie hugged me and tried to comfort me as best as she could while I cried into her shoulder. She knew I wasn't really angry at her, that I was just worried for my brother and she understood. She was the best friend anyone could ask for.

"You'll see him again, I'm sure," she said soothingly.

"How can you know that?" I asked, my voice hoarse from all the crying.

"I have faith," she replied simply. "I have hope. Never loose yours."

"I don't know if I can be as strong as you are," I sighed, admiring my friend for her inner strength and her wisdom.

"You are strong, Nicole," Lizzie told me sternly. "You just have to believe you are and trust yourself."

"How can I?"

"How can't you?" she asked back. "Look at you, Nikki. You're beautiful, intelligent and independent."

"I am?" I asked doubtfully.

"Yes," she answered firmly. "You just need to believe in yourself."

"I will," I told her, determination flowing through my body. I wanted to be this girl Lizzie had just described. I wanted to be admired and loved, to make my family proud and, most importantly, to make myself proud.

"Good," Lizzie smiled. Like Jasper, she always knew how to motivate me and make me feel better about myself. Everything I was now, I owed it to her. "Do you want to stay until tomorrow? My parents are gone until tomorrow and I don't want to be by myself."

"Sure," I agreed, smirking at my friend's fear to stay alone in her house, despite the presence of the whole household.

"Come on, let's have something to eat," she begged, grabbing my hand. "I'm starving."

I laughed and allowed her to drag me to the dining room, where we talked happily as we ate the delicious meal the cook had prepared.

"We should go to your house to get you some clothes and tell your parents you'll spend the night here," Lizzie said responsibly, as usual. "Mrs. Macready?"

"Yes, Miss Darcy?" the woman asked, stepping besides Lizzie.

"Would you tell Mr. Gardiner to prepare the coach? Miss Whitlock and I are going out. We shall be back by sundown," Lizzie informed her housekeeper.

"Of course, Miss Darcy," Mrs. Macready said, bowing her head and walking out of the room.

"Why do we need the carriage?" I asked my friend as soon as the older woman was out of the room. "My house is only a few blocks away; we can walk."

"I know, but I want to go for a ride," Lizzie shuddered. "We can go shop for dresses. I need your advise."

"That'd be great," I giggled happily, jumping up and down in my seat, making my friend laugh at my childishness.

"Let's go then," she said getting up and leading me outside where the couch was already waiting for us. We sat there, facing each other and gossiped about our neighbours like every other young girls until we reached my house.

"Miss Whitlock, Miss Darcy," Liddy, one of the girls that served in my house greeted us as she opened the door I had previously knocked.

"Liddy," I acknowledged with a nod. "Do you know where my parents are?"

"I believe they are in the drawing room, Miss Whitlock," she replied.

"Thank you," I said politely. "Could you ask Bettie to pack some clothes for me to spend the night at Miss Darcy's house?"

"Of course, Miss Whitlock," she said, before she disappeared up the stairs. Lizzie and I went to the living room, where we found my parents. My mother, just like Lizzie, was good at playing piano, and her hands were moving expertly across the keys, creating a beautiful tune. My father, on the other hand, was sitting on a chair, reading the newspaper. Since Jasper had told him he was planning to join the army, my father could always be found reading about the war and how it was going.

"Mum, dad," I greeted them, stepping into the room with Lizzie in tow.

"Hello, sweetie. Lizzie how do you fare?" my mother asked, rising from her seat as well as my father.

"Very well, Mrs. Whitlock, thank you," my friend replied politely. My parents always asked her to call them John and Mary Jane, but Lizzie would never do so.

"As a matter of fact, Mr. and Mrs. Darcy will be out of town until tomorrow and Lizzie asked me if I wanted to spend the night with her," I explained, eager to get out of m house and to go shopping with my friend.

"That's great, dear," my father accepted. "Do you need anything?"

"I already asked Bettie to pack me some clothes, but Lizzie and I were planning to go buy some dresses, so I needed money for that," I told them.

"Of course, sweetie," my father told me as he took out his wallet and gave me more than enough.

"Would you two like to have tea with us?" my mother asked.

"It's alright, mum," I told her. "We're probably going to meet Helen and Katherine for tea."

"That's great, honey," my father said, kissing me on the forehead and hugging Lizzie before he sat again. "You should go find those dresses now. I don't want you two to be wandering around town until late."

"Don't worry, Mr. Whitlock, I'll take care of Nicole," Lizzie reassured him, as my mother hugged us both.

"I trust you, Lizzie," my father laughed, knowing my friend was completely reliable and trustworthy, not at all like myself.

"Alright, off you go girls," my mum told us as she ushered us out of the room. We complied and, soon enough, we were on the carriage yet again on our way to our favourite dress store in town.

"Good afternoon, Miss Whitlock, Miss Darcy," the shop owner greeted us warmly. Well, it was the least he could do. After all, the two of us were his best clients.

"Do you like this one?" Lizzie asked after having instantly submerged herself among endless perches filled with dresses of different colours and sizes. At the moment, she was holding a forest green dress with silver linings.

"I love it," I told her honestly. Green was always her colour; it made her tanned complexion stand out. "You should try it on."

"I will, what have you seen?" she asked as she approached me, holding some dresses in her arms to try on.

"I like this one," I told her, showing her a royal blue dress.

"Very suiting," she complimented. "Let's go see how it fits."

We got into the changing rooms and tried on about five dresses each. We would then come out at the same time and tell what we thought of the other's dress. I liked all of them, and so did Lizzie, though she had her doubts about a yellow dress I had tried on. We couldn't decide for one, so we ended up buying all those we tried on. The shop owner, Mr. Wells, was more than happy with his sale and he helped us carry the bags to the carriage.

After our shopping trip was finished, we headed towards Helen and Katherine Bentley's house for tea. Mrs. Bentley welcomed us inside and led us to the twins' private lounge, where the four of us enjoyed our tea and talked happily. Helen and Katherine were a few months younger than Lizzie, so we got on well. They both had light brown hair and hazel eyes, and loved gossip even more than Lizzie and I did.

"So, Nicole," Katherine began eyeing her twin significantly. I knew what that look meant. They were about to interrogate me about my brother. Helen had developed a crush on him, but I knew he never saw her as anything more than his little sister's friend. "How is Jasper doing?"

"He went to my uncle's house. He'll be spending some time there," I lied smoothly. My parents and I had agreed that we should make an excuse for Jasper's sudden disappearance. We couldn't tell he had joined the army because, in reality, he wasn't old enough to do so.

"Oh," Helen sighed disappointedly. "Do you know when he'll be back?"

"Not at all," I said, this time sincerely.

"That's too bad," Katherine said sadly. "I hope he returns soon."

"So do I," I agreed.

"Well, we should get going," Lizzie reminded me. "We are expected for dinner."

"Of course, I totally forgot," I said, getting up along with Lizzie.

"We hope to see you two soon," Helen said.

"Sure," I said as I grabbed my coat and followed Katherine and Lizzie down the stairs.

"Perfect," Helen smiled happily.

"Until then," Katherine greeted, bowing her head at Lizzie and I, who complied and left the house.

We got on the couch and waved at the twins, who were standing at the door, watching us leave. Maybe I didn't have the same relationship with them that I had with Lizzie, but I certainly considered the twins my friends. Even though they were too talkative and nosy, they were nice people and fun to be with.

The journey back to Lizzie's house was spent in a comfortable silence and, soon, we were enjoying dinner together, chatting about random things. I was showed then by Cynthia, the new servant that had received me in the morning, to my usual room. Yes, I had a room at my friend's house and so did she in mine. People would consider it strange but it was so usual for me to stay at Lizzie's house and vice versa that it was completely normal for us.

After changing into my night gown and wishing Lizzie a good night, I got into bed and closed my eyes, thinking that, if I spent my days in the same way I did that day, the day Jasper would return would arrive before I noticed.

**A/N: Hey everyone! So, We Are Broken's prologue has had over 30 hits and only 1 review :( But, as I'm a good person, here is chapter 1, and I want to know what you people think about it! Please review and tell me! There are pics of the characters in my profile, so take a look! xoxo**


	3. Incomplete

Chapter 2: Incomplete

**A/N: Remember to check the pics in my profile!**

_**1864**_

"Nicole stop moving or you'll ruin your hair," Lizzie scolded gently, causing Katherine and Helen to giggle quietly behind her. She continued piling my hair in a neat bun at the top of my head as the twins got into their newly purchased dresses. It was March 21, which meant that, that night, the Spring Ball would take place and, being the first ball Lizzie, Katherine, Helen and I were allowed to attend, we were completely excited and restless, though Lizzie hid it pretty well.

We were getting ready in my house and the four of us were going to arrive at the ball in the same carriage, leaving each of our parents to take theirs. Lizzie had previously done Helen's hair and got dressed while I did Katherine's and, at the moment, she was busy doing mine while the twins got dressed so that, after she finished, Katherine would be able to arrange her hair while I got dressed.

"There you go," she said, stepping back to admire her work.

"Oh, Nicole, you look so beautiful!" Helen sighed enviously as Katherine nodded in agreement.

"So do both of you," I said, looking at the twins. Helen was wearing a burgundy red dress with gold lining, while Katherine had a royal blue dress with silver details. They looked really pretty.

"Not as much as you," Katherine complimented as she began arranging Lizzie's dark curls and Helen helped me adjusting my corset.

"Yes, every man in the ball will be drooling after you," Helen teased, smirking mischievously.

"Oh, shush," I rebuked, though I couldn't keep the smile off my face. I was beautiful and I knew it. After four years, I had become the self-confident and independent woman I wished to be. Heads turned in my direction when I walked by and I had already received countless marriage proposals, even when I was barely fifteen. Of course, I hadn't accepted any of them. I still had to find the man that could win my favour and I was determined to marry someone I truly loved. I was lucky my parents were so supportive in that. The twins, on the other hand, weren't so lucky. Their parents were more than willing to marry them to the first wealthy men that asked for their hands, not minding at all how they might feel.

"There," Helen said after she had tensed the last string of the corset to its fullest. She then helped me get into my dress without messing my hair and buttoned it up when I was dressed. I looked at the mirror and assessed myself. I was wearing a white dress with short sleeves and white gloves that stopped a few inches below the dress' sleeves. My hair was done perfectly, a few loose curls framing my slightly tanned face. It was very complimenting, but I couldn't help but think there was something missing to be completely perfect.

"What are you looking at so intently?" Lizzie asked from behind me. She was ready, half her hair pulled into an elegant bun, the rest flowing in soft curls down her back, and her green dress complimenting her dark skin. "You look amazing."

"I think there's something else I should add," I said, frowning slightly and studying my reflection once again.

"What about this?" Katherine asked, holding a silver ribbon in her hands.

"You're a genius!" I congratulated as she helped me placing it beneath my bust line and tie it behind my back.

"There you go," she said, stepping back to watch the result. Now, I was ready to go.

"Alright, let's get going," Lizzie commanded, ushering us out of the room and down the stairs.

My parents had already left for the ball, so we hurried into the already waiting carriage that took us straight to the community building where those type of gatherings took place. The four of us talked more than usual and, even Lizzie, whose mature personality always kept her from acting the same way Katherine, Helen or I did was giggling like any other young woman when we arrived at our destination. We were helped down the carriage by our respective fathers, who were waiting for us outside, while our mothers stood a few steps away, looking as if they were about to cry.

"Oh, honey, you look so beautiful," my mother exclaimed as soon as she saw me, pulling me into a soft hug, so as not to wrinkle my dress or mess my hair.

"Our little Nicole has grown up," my father winked as he kissed me on the forehead after my mother had released me from her tight grip. "You look stunning, dear."

"Thanks," I said shyly, as I felt a small blush creep into my face and settle on my cheeks.

"Nikki, are you coming?" Katherine asked, motioning for me to follow her and the others inside.

"Yes," I replied as I waved at my parents and went towards my friends. When we got inside, the four of us gaped in amazement and awe. The hall was beautifully decorated with candles hanging from the pillars that surrounded the dance floor. Dozens of couples swayed gently at the rhythm of the music coming from a small band on one corner of the room. The colourful atmosphere was completed by the sight of uncountable gowns and dresses of every colour imaginable, some twirling around in the arms of finely dressed men, and others standing around, talking with other people or merely watching the dancers.

It was simply the greatest night of my life. I danced every dance, never lacking a partner and men practically making a line to ask me for my hand in the following dance. Lizzie, Katherine and Helen also had their fair share of partners and, most of the time, one of my friends was dancing next to me. As I was twirled around by different arms and talked to different people, it felt like the world had suddenly slowed around me.

I could see Katherine and Helen holding arms and talking to several men at the same time, flirting with each one of them.

I could see Lizzie dancing with a handsome man and blushing at something he was telling her.

I could see my mother chatting with women her age, flattered by the comments she was receiving as regards myself and looking at me with pride and love in her blue eyes.

I could see my father politely answering the questions that young men asked him about me and sighing exasperatedly before catching my eye and winking mischievously before returning to his conversation.

But there was something missing. No, not something, but someone. My brother. Jasper. I hadn't heard from him since he left home to join the army, three years ago. Neither good, nor bad news. It was then I realised I needed him back. I needed him to see me again and tell me he was proud of me, of what I had become. I was sure he would be home soon. After all, he had a promise to keep. He had promised he would come back to get me as soon as he could; that he wouldn't go anywhere without me. And Jasper was, above all, a gentleman that would never lie to me. If he said he would be back, then I was sure he would do anything he could to do so.

I was then distracted by Lizzie, who was begging me to join her in a song. The whole company, after Mrs. Darcy's compliments towards her own daughter's skills with the pianoforte had requested her to play something but Lizzie, being the shy girl she was, requested me to sing along with her song, so that she wasn't the centre of everyone's attention. After some persuading from her behalf and some people present, I agreed and was instantly dragged by my friend to another room, where people were already gathering, hoping to listen to the two of us.

I used to sing with Lizzie about four times a week, so performing in front of all those people wasn't too much of a challenge, luckily. I could see Lizzie was a bit nervous when she began, but she soon sobered up and managed to play up to her usual standards. When we finished our first song, we were greeted by the warm sound of applause coming from everyone present in the room and congratulations from the ones closer to ourselves, who complimented and admired our talent.

The rest of the night went by in a blur and, before I could realise, I was greeting my friends and their parents, before getting inside a carriage with my own parents, who seemed as tired as I was, but not nearly as giggly and excited. We rode to our house in a comfortable silence. I spent the whole time staring out of the window and thinking of random matters.

"Go get some sleep, sweetie, you look tired," my mother told me as soon as we got inside our house.

"I'll go in a moment, I want to drink some water first," I replied, heading for the kitchen, where I poured myself a glass of water before returning to the entrance hall and starting walking up the stairs to go to my room. I was interrupted mid-step by a knock at the door.

"Who could it be at this time in the morning?" my mother voice wondered from upstairs.

"I go see," I said, going down and opening the door. In the doorstep was a young official, dressed in his army uniform and looking solemn. The moment he looked at me, he seemed to be stunned and no words came out of his mouth, so I considered it better to begin the conversation myself. "How can I help you?" I inquired politely, knowing it would be uncivil to remind the man of the hour it was.

"I'm looking for the Whitlock family," he said, openly checking me out.

"Then you are in the right place. I am Nicole Whitlock," I said proudly, not liking the way he was looking at me.

"Are your parents home? I need to discuss an important matter with them," he informed.

"Just a minute. Please, do come in," I said as I stepped aside and led him to the living room. "I will be right back."

I strode out of the room appearing to be calm but, as soon as the officer was out of sight, I ran upstairs to my parents' room. I knocked impatiently and was unable to wait still, until my mother opened the door.

"What is it Nicole? Why aren't you in bed already?" she asked, noticing my obvious anxiety and discomfort.

"There's an officer downstairs. He said he had something to tell you and dad and that it was important," I informed in a rush, hoping that she would hurry up. I didn't know why, but I felt like something was compressing my chest, making it hard for me to breathe properly, and I was sure it had to do with the unexpected visit of this unknown official. It was quite obvious that he was bringing news from Jasper and I couldn't bring myself to calm down. I needed to know what was going on immediately.

"We'll be downstairs in a second," she reassured me, getting inside her room once again and closing the door behind her.

Having nothing else to do, I hurried to the living room once again, where the officer was standing still, his eyes roaming around the room, taking in its fine furniture and delicate ornaments. His eyes then met mine, and his held such lust and desire that I thought it proper to lower my own gaze. Not five minutes later, my parents came down the stairs, dressed in simple clothes and looks of curiosity and anxiety mirroring mine.

"Mr. and Mrs. Whitlock I presume?" the officer asked as soon as my parents stepped into the room. They simply nodded. "I am officer Charles Devour. I was under the command of Mayor Jasper Whitlock during the evacuation of Galveston."

"Was?" I asked, perceiving that something wasn't right. Why would this man come to talk about Jasper and use the past tense? The only thing I could think of was that he was… No. He couldn't be. He promised he would come back and he was going to. I was sure.

"Yes, Miss," he confirmed, bowing his head at me, his simple statement making my parents shake in anticipation. "Nobody has seen him since that time a few weeks ago and we think he might be dead."

"No!" my mother screamed, tears falling down her face, which was twisted in agony and pain. She started sobbing uncontrollably, so my father caught her between his arms, hugging her to his chest but without trying to soothe her. He was too shocked himself to try something like that.

"He can't be dead," I whispered brokenly, feeling the tears rolling down my cheeks and my body shaking with silent sobs. "He said he'd come back."

"I am truly sorry," the officer apologised, lowering his head once again. "We searched everywhere for him. Here is his sword," he said sadly, getting my brother's weapon out of his travelling bags. "We found it tied to his saddle with his horse."

He moved towards my father, attempting to give it to him, but my father was just staring at the wall, without blinking or moving his body in any way. My mother was completely out of the question, crying uncontrollably in my father's arms. Knowing I had to be the strong one, at least until this man left, I stepped forwards, holding my hands in front of me, in an invitation for the man to give me my brother's sword. I managed to control my sobbing, but the tears were out of the question. They kept flowing freely out of my eyes, dampening my cheeks and leaving hot, salty trails behind.

Seeing that I was the only one under certain degree of control in the room, the officer placed the weapon carefully in my arms, hesitating at first, but doing it all the same. As soon as I could feel the cold stealth between my trembling hands, I couldn't hold it in any longer. I fell to my knees, breaking down in painful sobs. Mrs. Lucas, the housekeeper at my house, saw the whole scene and hurried to escort the officer out of the house, leaving my parents and I to dwell in our misery.

I felt empty, drained. Like I couldn't go on any longer, not without Jasper. Thinking about him made my cries become worse, making me clutch his sword tighter. That weapon may have been the last thing my brother had touched before he died, and I wasn't planning on letting it go anytime soon. I needed him back. What if he had died without knowing how much I loved him and the great brother he had been to me? What if he had died not aware of how much we missed him every day he was gone and how much we wanted him back with us?

"Jasper, Jasper," I kept mumbling under my breath over and over again. I don't know how long I was there but, at some point, someone must have carried me to my room, as the first thing I remembered was opening my eyes, puffy and red from crying, to find myself lying in my bed, my pillow soaking wet from all the tears.

I sat up immediately, looking around my room in confusion. I had had the strangest dream. I had dreamt Jasper was there, sitting next to me in my bed, his cold hand holding mine. But the Jasper of my dreams had been different than what I remembered him to be. His skin had been paler and had felt colder to the touch; his eyes had been a blood red colour, though they had still shined with love when they had seen me; and, in general, he had looked devastatingly beautiful. That Jasper had stroked my cheek slowly and carefully, as if he feared he would hurt me if he made a wrong move.

"Shh," he had said, trying to get me to stop crying and whimpering. "Don't cry sweetie. Everything will turn out alright. Please be strong. For me."

He had then kissed my forehead and, in the blink of an eye, he was gone. I knew he hadn't been real, but the things he had said made me think of what the real him would have said if he had seen me like that. Probably the same words that the one in my dream had said. That I had to be strong. Even when I was little, he would always say that there was no use of crying; that it didn't help anyone, or fix things. He was right. Jasper was dead and my tears wouldn't bring him to life. I had to be strong; for my brother's memory, I owed it to him, for my parents, who needed my help and, above all, for myself.

So I was. I promised myself I would never cry again, no matter what. I stood up straight and looked at my reflection. Even with my hair messy and bushy, my pale and tear-struck face and my puffy eyes, I was indeed the most beautiful creature in the whole world. I fixed my hair and got dressed in a simple black dress before going downstairs to help my parents anyway I could.

I found both of them in the dining room, eating breakfast in an attempt to seem calm and collected, but failing miserably. My mother's eyes were rimmed with red like mine and my father had purple bags under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept at all, which was probably true. I felt the tears building up in my eyes when I realised it will always be the three of us from that moment on, but I willed them to disappear and they did.

"Nicole!" my mother cried when she noticed me, getting up from her seat to hug me tightly, as if she was afraid to let go. I could feel her tears against the skin of my shoulder, but I didn't let mine fall. Instead, I brushed her hair in a soothing manner and allowed her to cry as much as she could against my shoulder.

"Shh, it's okay. I'm here," I repeated in a whisper, slowly managing to calm her down.

"I'm sorry," she said hoarsely when she regained the ability to speak. "I should be the one helping you and not the other way round."

"It's fine, mum," I smiled sadly, as she released me from her grip. "I can handle it."

"I know you can, sweetie," she said, stroking my cheek and flattening my hair with her hands. "You always were the strong one in the family."

My father then stood up and hugged us both, causing my mother's tears to start falling again. The three of us stood there, holding each other and knowing, though nobody said it aloud, that our family would never be complete again.

**A/N: So, here is the next chapter! Hope you all liked it, though I won't be able to tell unless you review! Special thanks to amaris27, WhisperInTheRain, Rayne91 and Kelsey-Short for reviewing my last chapters and to all of you who have been reading! xoxo**


	4. Birthday Surprise

Chapter 3: Birthday Surprise

**A/N: Okay people, here's where the real story starts!**

_**1865**_

"Happy birthday, Lizzie!" I exclaimed as soon as I got into my best friend's house, hugging her tightly. A little less than a year has passed since we had got the news of Jasper's death, and things were practically back to normal in my life, if you didn't consider those melancholic moments when I visited my brother's grave and sat there, alone, for hours.

"Thanks, Nikki!" she said happily, leading me inside her house.

"I can't believe you're already eighteen," I laughed, shaking my head. "You're too old my friend." She joined me, giggling happily.

"Yes, and I can't believe I'll be married in a few months," she added, still gazing unbelievably at the ring she carried in her left hand.

"Neither can I," I said truthfully. When, some weeks ago, she told me William Turner, the young man she had looked so cosy with during the last Spring Ball, had proposed and that she had accepted, I had a hard time believing my friend was finally settling. "Luckily I'm still young."

"I am young too," my friend gasped in mock offence. I always teased her about being the eldest in our group: she was turning eighteen, while the twins still had a couple of months more of being seventeen, and I would be seventeen a few weeks after the twins' birthday. I loved the fact I was still sixteen and had no pressure to get married or anything of the sort.

"You'll be Mrs. Turner soon, so I think that proves you're getting old, dear," I continued teasing. But she didn't realise. She had that dreamy look on her face that told me she was thinking of her fiancée. She couldn't even hear his last name without daydreaming about him. The poor girl was head over heels for him…

"I can't wait," she admitted. "Come with me, I want to show you something."

She dragged me up the stairs and into her drawing room, where she sat me on a sofa while she busied herself looking for something. Soon, she came back, holding a sheet of paper and looking proud with herself.

"Here," she said, handing it to me. I took it and found myself looking at a drawing of a beautiful dress, obviously designed by Lizzie.

"This is awesome, Liz," I told her honestly. My friend had a talent for those sort of things. She loved every form of art, designing clothes being one of them, and was great for them.

"Yes, and you'll be wearing it for my wedding. Well, you and the twins," she clarified. "I want you three to be my bridesmaids. You'll obviously be my maid of honour but -"

She couldn't finish her sentence, because, as soon as her words sank, I already had her wrapped in a tight hug.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," I chanted excitedly, never letting go of my best friend.

"You should have known," she laughed as she hugged me back in her usual, sisterly way. "You are my best friend after all, Nicole. There's no one I'd rather have by my side that day."

"William knew," I gasped in realisation, as I let go of my friend, remembering that, the last day I had seen my friend's future husband, he had made quizzical comments concerning me and his wedding that, at the moment, were quite clear to me.

"Of course he did," she laughed. "I found it really hard to stop myself from laughing the other day."

"I should be angry at you two for joking at my expense, but, to be honest, I'm too happy for that," I shuddered.

"Maybe tomorrow," she teased.

"Maybe…" I trailed off. Both of us laughed until we heard a knock at the door and Lizzie's butler appeared at the door.

"Miss Katherine Bentley and Miss Helen Bentley," he announced formally as the twins arrived, trying to contain their laughs. They always liked to make an entrance, even if it was Lizzie's house and there was no need for such formalities.

"Happy birthday, Lizzie!" they chorused as they stepped forward to hug her, both at the same time.

"Hi Katherine, hi Helen," Lizzie greeted, smiling slightly and winking at me. "I was just telling Nicole that I wanted you three to be my bridesmaids."

The twins looked at Lizzie in confusion, then at me and, finally, at each other, until everything was brought home to them. They shrieked excitedly, making Lizzie and I laugh and hugged the future Mrs. Turner once more.

"Thank you so much, Lizzie!" Katherine exclaimed as her sister danced around the room happily.

"You're totally welcome," Lizzie grinned. "Oh, I'm the happiest woman in the world! Can one die of happiness?"

The four of us laughed again at our friend's obvious delight and had tea, chatting endlessly about Lizzie's plans for her wedding.

"If only I could see you three engaged to men you love as much as I love William, my happiness would be complete," she teased.

"Don't worry about us, Lizzie," I scolded gently.

"Yes, for now you had better focus on your own wedding," Helen agreed.

"You can plan ours later," Katherine added, making us giggle happily again.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in a similar fashion and, soon, night was falling outside, and it was time to leave for Lizzie's surprise birthday party that her fiancée had organised, with my help, of course. I had already made arrangements for the carriage to be ready to depart soon, so I thought it was time to get going.

"Alright, ladies, we have to get going," I said, getting up and motioning for them to do the same.

"Where are you going?" Lizzie asked, completely confused.

"You are coming with us," Helen clarified.

"And you'll see where we are going soon," Katherine said mysteriously, making me giggle at her antics.

"But -"

"No buts, Lizzie," I told her sternly. "You are coming with us."

"You are kidnapping me?" she asked jokingly as we walked down the stairs and out of the house where the carriage was already expecting us.

"You could say so," Helen teased back as she closed the carriage's door, causing the vehicle to start moving instantly.

"Where are you taking me?" Lizzie asked over and over again the whole trip, receiving no clear answer from our behalf.

"Ask us no questions and we'll tell you no lies, Liz," I replied, making her pout.

"But - ahh!" she screamed, as did the rest of us when the carriage suddenly jumped abruptly and stopped moving all of a sudden.

"What happened?" Helen asked, terrified.

"I'll ask Mr. Gardiner, I'm sure it's nothing serious," I said soothingly as I opened the carriage's door and stepped out. "What is the matter, Mr. Gardiner?"

"One of the wheels has broken, Miss Whitlock," he informed, coming down from his seat.

"Are we going to be able to reach our destination soon?" I asked, worried because I didn't want us to get there too late.

"I have to go to town to get a replacement," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "I can be back in a half-hour, at the very least."

"Oh, I see," I said, concerned. "Make haste then, Mr. Gardiner."

"I will, Miss," he complied as he began walking back to town, being engulfed by darkness soon after. I sighed and got into the carriage with my friends once again.

"And?" Katherine asked impatiently, seeing my concerned face.

"We'll be delayed here about half an hour," I informed my friends.

"Can't we walk there?" Helen said, voicing the same thing I had been thinking.

"But it's too dark and creepy out there," Lizzie shuddered. "What do you think, Nikki?"

"I was thinking of walking there too," I admitted. "But if you don't like the idea we can wait here, Liz."

"Is it close from here?" she asked, biting her lip in what I knew was hesitation.

"Less than a mile," I told her truthfully.

"Alright then. But if anything happens to us, I'm making you responsible," she threatened, making Helen, Katherine and I laugh. I could tell she wasn't too fond of the idea and any other day I would have told everyone to stay where we were, but that day I was in a hurry to get us all there, so that she would be able to enjoy her party.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you," I assured her as we got down the carriage and started making our way to the party.

Conversation was scarce during our walk, as the four of us were too concerned with our study of our surroundings to be able to relax and chat lightly like we had been doing the whole day. A shiver went down my spine. I had a bad feeling, but I kept quiet, not wanting to scare my friends further.

"My, my, what do we have here?" a velvety voice asked from behind us. I turned around so fast that I should have ended up on the floor, completely dizzy, but the adrenaline pumping through my veins helped me keep my balance. I heard my friends gasp besides me and I had a real hard time not doing the same. In front of us were the two most beautiful men I had ever seen. They were simply breathtaking, with their alabaster skin shining faintly under the moonlight. Despite their beauty, there was something about them that made me think they were dangerous. Maybe it was their red eye colour, or their evil smirks.

"Who are you?" a different, though equally perfect voice asked. I looked over my friend and I saw they were too shocked to speak, so I took the reigns of the conversation.

"My name is Nicole Whitlock and these are my friends: Elizabeth Darcy and Katherine and Helen Bentley," I informed, thanking god my voice was steady and didn't show my fear. Both men lifted their eyebrows in surprise, as if they hadn't truly expected any of us to be able to answer their question.

"And why, if I may ask, are four young ladies like yourselves walking alone at night?" the first one, that had black short hair asked.

"That is none of your concern," I replied haughtily. "Now, if you don't mind, we have somewhere else to go."

"Oh, but it happens to be that we _do _mind," the other one, with shoulder-length dirty blond hair said.

"We couldn't care less if you minded or not," Lizzie interrupted me before I could retort, glaring openly at the two strangers. "Let's go Nicole, please."

I turned around to follow, but I froze in mid-step, noticing other two figures in front of us. They were as beautiful as the first two. They had the same red eyes and pale skin. One was a red-headed woman, holding hands with a brown-haired man.

"Stop playing, Kevin, I'm hungry," she whined with her girlish voice, studying us intently as she got near.

"You can have those two, Sarah," the dark haired man said, pointing towards Katherine and Helen. "I want to keep these two."

"As you like it," the woman I assumed was called Sarah said as she got near Helen and took a strand of her hair, smelling it like an animal would have done. "I want this one."

"Leave her alone!" I yelled, snapping back into reality and pushing Helen out of the way. There was something wrong with those people and I wouldn't let my friends get hurt because of my idea to walk to the party. Instead of looking angry, the woman merely laughed, fixing her burgundy eyes on my face.

"I see what you mean, Kevin. There's something special about this one," she smiled, letting her pearly-white teeth show.

I shuddered and, suddenly, the wind around us turned colder and moved faster, making my hair fly around my face and the tree branches on top of us creak, leaves falling on top of us. The four strangers in front of us looked around them with their eyes wide open and then at me, glaring at them fiercely.

"Help me with the other one, Caleb," the one named Kevin commanded, motioning with his head at Lizzie. "I'll take care of this one."

Even in the horrible situation we were in, a small part of my brain registered that this Kevin must have been the leader in their small group, because the one named Caleb took a step closer to Lizzie as soon as his friend told him to.

"Lizzie, no!" I yelled, intending to move towards my friend. However, cold and unbelievably strong arms encircled my way, making it impossible for me to make my way towards my friend.

"Nicole!" Lizzie shouted, as she was grabbed by the other man and thrown into his shoulder, before this Caleb broke into a run and submerged him and my friend into the depths of the forest. I blinked surprised. One second my friend was there and the next one, this man had disappeared along with her. "What the hell is going on here?" I demanded, my manners forgotten as I glared at the three smirking people, two of whom were slowly approaching my friends.

"Make her shut up, Kevin," the other man whose name I didn't know complained. "I want to eat!"

"They're all yours," Kevin said and, before I could realise what was happening, Katherine was screaming in pain as this man grabbed her by the neck and bit hard.

"Katherine!" I shouted, wriggling in my captor's grip with no avail. The earth beneath our feet shook and the wind blew strongly against the man holding Katherine, but he seemed unfazed. I saw how the light slowly left my friend's eyes, who kept screaming my name as well as her sister's. "Leave her alone!"

"Nicole, please do something! He's killing her!" Helen yelled once more before the woman behind her twisted her neck. With a loud 'crack!' my friend's body fell to the floor, her lifeless hazel eyes staring at my face with a look of horror and helplessness.

"Helen!" I screamed in terror as Sarah dropped to the floor besides her and bit her neck, drinking her blood in the same way the other male had done with Katherine. "No!"

"Let's get going, little one," Kevin whispered in my ear, his hot breath sending shivers of disgust down my spine. Before I realised what was happening, I felt myself flying across the forest, cradled securely against Kevin's chest, my unblinking eyes open in shock and fear.

What were these creatures? Why had they killed my friends? What were they going to do to me? Where was Lizzie? Was she still alive? My whole body was trembling at the horrible scene I had witnessed, but I paid no heed. I didn't care about my fear, I knew I could handle it. But, right then, my need to find Lizzie and make sure she was fine was greater than anything. If she had suffered the same fate as the twins I didn't know if I would be able to forgive myself. After all, it was me who agreed to Helen's suggestion, and I had accepted the responsibility in case anything happened. Lizzie was my responsibility and I had to find her.

I didn't notice we were slowing down until I felt Kevin's lips on the tender skin of my uncovered neck. I closed my eyes, knowing I couldn't do anything against the creature whose friends had sucked the blood out of my friends and broken Helen's neck as if it was a stick.

"Where's my friend?" I asked in a whisper so that he wouldn't notice how my voice was about to break.

"I would be more concerned about myself, if I were you," he said tenderly as he stroked my lower lip with his cold thumb.

"Fuck you," I uttered, rage consuming me.

"Oh, it's a pity that such a pretty mouth is used to say those harsh words," he said, smirking maliciously.

"Where is Lizzie?" I repeated as he opened the door to a small cottage hidden in the depths of the woods and got us inside. As soon as we were inside, my question was answered. Screams that I recognised as belonging to my friend came from the room next to the one we were in. I jumped out of my captor's arms, who offered no resistance this time. "What have you done to her? Lizzie! Lizzie, I'm here!"

"She'll be fine," Kevin said soothingly as Caleb came out of the room Lizzie was in and closed it behind me so that I couldn't see what was happening inside.

"Don't lie to me!" I demanded angrily, not paying attention at a window that exploded behind Kevin. "What do you want with us? What are you going to do to me?"

"I wish I could say that this won't hurt," Kevin sighed, looking at his friend meaningfully, who grabbed me from behind so that I couldn't move. "But it will."

I screamed and kicked as Kevin approached me slowly, smiling in anticipation. I closed my eyes as I noticed his mouth on my throat and whimpered in pain as his teeth cut the skin there. I though he was going to suck me dry like the others did to Katherine and Helen but, soon enough, his mouth left my neck and, instead, was replaced with a burning feeling that was a hundred times worse. The last thing I remember before the pain overwhelmed my senses was being carried to the same room Lizzie was in and laid carefully into a comfortable bed. Then, my whole world went black and I was left alone with the pain that flowed through my veins, burning everything as it passed.

**A/N: So there it is! Hope you guys liked it! If you did, take a minute of your time to leave a review and, if you didn't, advise is welcome! Until the next time! xoxo**


	5. New Life

Chapter 4: New Life

_**1865**_

Pain, it was all I felt. Unbearable and endless pain. At first, I could only feel it near the wound in my neck but, slowly, it started spreading until, at the moment, it engulfed my whole body. I tried my best not to scream, but my body didn't seem to respond to my wishes. I couldn't help but whimper and twitch the whole time. Was Lizzie undergoing the same pain? Was that the reason I had heard her screams before? I hoped so. If I was right, it meant that at least she was alive and that she hadn't been slaughtered mercilessly like Helen and Katherine.

Many people in my situation would have thought they were dead and burning in the flames of hell. I didn't. I was never a very catholic person, but I was good and that's what counted, right? I didn't think I had ever done something that would make me deserve going to hell, so the only possible answer was that I was alive.

If so, what was happening to me? What were those people? What had they done to Lizzie and I?

After what seemed years, I felt the fire slowly recoiling from my fingertips and, some time after, my hands and feet, leaving a feeling of coolness and power behind. At the same time, though, it felt like the fire around my heart grew bigger and hotter, making me clutch my chest in agony.

"It's alright Nikki," a beautiful female voice said soothingly. "It will be over soon. I promise."

I didn't know who the voice belonged to, but I was sure it wasn't from that woman called Sarah, let alone the other three men. It held a familiar tune and, consequently, my reaction was to trust it immediately, hoping the owner of the voice knew what she was talking about.

Soon, the fire had completely left my limbs, but the pain in my chest was becoming excruciating and I didn't know how much longer I would last. I felt it. I would die soon. Even my heart knew it and I could feel it, thumping rapidly against my ribs, trying to fight the fire, but slowly losing the battle.

When I came to the conclusion the fire has disappeared from my whole body, except my heart, was when I felt it beat a last time. Then, there was silence. Well, not complete silence. I could hear the sound of two sets of lungs in the room I was in, as well as breathing sounds from about ten or so other people outside the house and something else. It seemed to be the sound of small wings flapping against each other, like insects, but I was sure there was nothing flying near me so it should have been to far for me to be able to hear it, wouldn't it?

I inhaled softly and slowly. The air near me smelt of a rich mixture of sunlight, roses and apples but, a few feet away, I could sense something that smelt like lavender and honey and other thing that smelt like chocolate and freshly cut grass. I could also sense other things, outside the room, but it was too much for me to focus at the moment.

"Nicole?" the same voice I had heard before called. "Open your eyes, sweetie, it's okay."

"Who are you?" I asked, without opening my eyes. But I froze in shock. That wasn't my voice! How could it be? I was sure I had spoken, but the voice that came out was the most delightful sound I could have possibly imagined. It was as if I was singing, soft and delicate, with a strong soprano tune and, at the same time, it made me think of tinkling bells of a silver colour. I had no other way to describe it.

"I'm Lizzie, Nicole, it's fine," the voice said. Before I noticed I had even thought of opening my eyes, they were already open and staring at the dust particles above me, illuminated by the fading sunlight. "Nicole, look at me."

I turned my eyes to search for the origin of the voice but, instead of my friend, I found a red-eyed creature as breathtaking as any of the others I saw the other night.

"Who are you?" I asked again.

"It's me, Nicole. I'm Lizzie," she insisted, her beautiful face glowing with a warm smile. I looked again. This person looked similar to my friend: she had the same dark hair, full, red lips and her features, though slightly perfected, were the same as before. Her skin, though, lacked her usual tan and, instead, was as snow pale.

"Lizzie?" I asked hesitantly.

"Yes, Nicole. Maybe you should look at yourself so that you'll believe me and then he'll tell you everything," she said calmly.

I was about to ask who she was referring to when she said 'he' would explain everything, but then, I saw him, standing in a corner of the room, looking calm and comfortable. A threatening snarl was heard around the room and it took me a moment to realise I was producing it.

"It's fine, Nicole, trust me," Lizzie said, though I didn't avert my gaze from the man standing across the room.

"What is he doing here?" I hissed in my perfect, new voice.

"He will explain everything soon," Lizzie said, taking my hand, trying to soothe me. "But first you need to see yourself in the mirror, so that you'll believe his story."

She dragged me to a body length mirror that was standing on a corner of the small room. Now that the pain was gone, I was able to study my surroundings more clearly. The room we were in was small, with a wooden floor, yellowish painted walls and the bed I was lying on and the mirror in front of me as the only furniture. Through the window, I could see a huge clearing in the forest, filled with beautiful creatures with red eyes, looking at me with curiosity and, in some cases, lust.

"Ignore them, Nicole," my friend recommended as she saw me glaring at them. "Look at the mirror, please."

I did as my friend told me, eager to see what was causing her impatience. I looked at my reflection and, somehow, despite the horrendous situation we were in, a small part of the brain, the one filled with vain thoughts, was glad that I had done so. Next to me, all the beautiful creatures I had seen through the window and even Lizzie, seemed completely ordinary and common. My honey blond hair flowed down my back in neat waves, but it looked shinier and softer. My small lips were full and a delicate ice pink colour. My already beautiful features seemed those of an angel, soft and defined. My skin, which had been of a golden colour before, was now snowy white and flawless, except for the small freckles that adorned my little nose. And my eyes, they weren't the usual sapphire blue I loved so much, but the same blood-red colour of everyone there.

"What happened to me?" my bells-like voice asked, without showing my confusion and fear, my goddess-like face frowning delicately.

"We have changed, Nicole," Lizzie replied simply.

"Yeah, I can tell," I snapped. "What I'm asking, though, is why."

"I changed you," Kevin said, stepping forwards and standing besides me.

"What do you mean?" I asked, not making any sense from his statement.

"I'm a vampire," he shuddered. "I bit you and now you are one too."

"Yeah, and she's Little Red Riding Hood and I'm the big bad wolf," I said sarcastically. "Don't play with me."

"He's not," Lizzie interrupted. "Just look at yourself, Nicole. Think about what happened to Helen and Katherine the other night."

"What did your friends do to them?" I snarled, remembering their dead bodies lying on the road, their eyes lifeless and blind.

"They fed from them," he answered naturally, not an once of regret showing in his face for my friends' deaths. "We have to drink blood to remain strong and you four were unlucky enough to be on our way while we hunted."

"They were human beings, not stupid animals! You had no right to kill them just because you wanted to drink blood!" I spat. Kevin simply laughed.

"You will have to kill people to feed as well, you know," he said calmly, as if we were simply talking about the weather.

"I would never kill a person to feed myself, it's not right," I argued, noticing, with the corner of my eye, how Lizzie flinched slightly at my words.

"Anyway, you're a vampire now," Kevin continued, ignoring my previous words.

"And what does that involve?" I asked. I was a practical person - vampire, now - I went straight to the point. "What will chance now?"

"Apart from the fact that you'll have to drink blood now and that your appearance has been… slightly modified, you are a hundred times stronger and faster than a normal human being. For now, you are also stronger than the average vampire, because you are a newborn," he informed. "Also, your senses have been heightened enormously and your skin is as hard as steel, cold as ice and it sparkles in the sunlight."

"Anything else?" I asked sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

"In fact, yes," he admitted, smirking in what he surely thought was a sexy smile. "There are some vampires that have extra talents."

"I didn't know about that," Lizzie said, quite confused, as she sat comfortably on the bed. I assumed it was done out of use, for I didn't feel the slightest need to change my posture in any way, anytime soon.

"I didn't think it would be necessary for me to tell you, given that you don't have one," he told her impatiently before turning back to me, a greedy look in his eyes.

"And I do?" I asked puzzled. I knew I was supposed to hate the man - vampire - in front of me, but my curiosity was bigger than any other emotion at the moment. Besides, there was something about him, maybe his dangerous aura, that pulled me in.

"Yes," he answered simply. "Caleb, you know him, right? Well, he has the talent of being able to tell which vampires have a special ability, and you, my friend, are quite talented."

"I am?" I asked, entranced by what he was saying, dismissing the fact that he had called me his friend.

"Of course you are. Would you like to know what your power is, or do you want to discover it yourself?"

"I want to know," I said, determined to know everything there was to know about this new existence of mine.

"As you wish," he shuddered nonchalantly. "You can control matter."

"And what does that mean?" Lizzie asked, voicing the question I was about to ask myself. Kevin glared briefly at her but, seeing my angry expression for looking at my friend like that, he relaxed and answered, though he looked at me only throughout his explanation.

"Matter is everything around us," he began, quoting what any science book would state a few decades later. "That means that everything you can see or feel in any other way, you can create, manipulate and change the way you want."

"That's pretty ample, isn't it?" I sighed, eager to experiment with these so called powers… _No! Nicole, don't be so stupid! Your life has done a 180 and the only thing you can think of is how powerful you turned out to be? Control yourself! _I mentally rebuked myself for being like that when there was a chance I would never get my life back.

"It is," Kevin agreed, the greedy look back in his eyes. "That is why I wanted you and your friend to join my coven."

"We didn't get much of a choice, did we?" I asked sadly.

"I don't want to join," Lizzie said determinedly. "I have to go back home. William is waiting for me. I want to get married to him and have children."

"I'm sorry to say that won't be possible anymore," Kevin said coldly. "Even if your boyfriend is stupid enough so as not to notice how different you look and the fact that you will have to drink blood every few days, he will surely realise something's wrong when the years pass and you stay the same."

"And why would she stay the same?" I asked curiously.

"We vampires are immortal," he answered, shrugging his shoulders, as if he was explaining a three-year-old that two plus two is four.

"Great," Lizzie snapped angrily, narrowing her eyes and looking as if she was ready to attack Kevin at any moment. "Thanks for asking what we thought about it."

"Would you rather we had killed you two?" he asked, lifting his eyebrows and effectively silencing my friend. "I'm sorry, Nicole, you must be thirsty and I'm chatting happily without considering how you feel."

I hadn't paid much attention to the small burning in my throat until he talked about it, but, now that he did, it was all I could think about. It nearly drove me crazy.

"It hurts," I whined as I placed my hand around my throat, as if I expected it to get better at my touch.

"I know, I'll take you hunting," Kevin said sympathetically, holding out his hand for me to take. I hesitated but, at seeing the honest and worried look in his eyes, I placed my hand on his, allowing him to drag me out of the room and out of the house.

"Isn't Lizzie coming?" I inquired, seeing that my friend was nowhere to be seen.

"She already hunted," Kevin answered patiently, unlike when he talked to Lizzie.

"Oh," I sighed, sad that my friend wouldn't be able to come with me.

"We'll be back soon," he assured me. "Now follow me… if you can."

He broke into a run and was soon out of sight. It took a second for my brain to realise that this was the superhuman speed he had been talking about and not so long after, I was running at his same speed, without any discernible effort from my behalf. I giggled happily, my laughs echoing across the empty forest, and quickened my pace, following Kevin's scent and swiftly catching up with him. I could have left him behind easily, but I didn't know where he was taking me, so I remained by his side, following his lead.

As we ran, I could hear and smell everything around me, including those that belonged to things I couldn't see, even with my enhanced eyesight. Before I could realise, I changed course and was running at full speed after a mouth-watering scent. I could sense what it was before I even saw it. An enormous wildcat, chasing after his prey the same way I was chasing him. Did he realise the hunter was being hunted? I guess not. He didn't even have time to blink before I jumped on top of him, my teeth instinctively sinking into his neck, his warm blood flowing down my throat, instantly calming the burning in my throat.

"What are you doing?" an angry voice asked, bringing me back into the reality of my actions. I was drinking an animal's blood. Gross.

"I don't know, okay, I just followed my instincts," I snapped.

"I meant, why are you drinking blood from an animal. You should be feeding from humans," he argued hotly. Humans? Hadn't I told him I didn't want to kill people to feed? I was lucky to have followed the wildcat's smell, otherwise who knows what I would have ended up doing before I could contain myself?

"I don't want to drink human blood," I said, my voice full of determination and authority. "Why would I kill innocent people if animal blood can satisfy me?" And it did. Even though I could still feel the burning in my throat, drinking from the animal lying dead at my feet mingled my thirst and I was sure that, if I found another animal, I would be able to get rid of it, at least for the moment.

"Because human blood makes you stronger," he replied, still upset. But my decision was taken.

"I don't care. I won't drink human blood," I said, concluding our argument. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I can smell a few deer out there that are waiting for me."

I turned around and followed my nose, feeling Kevin still following me a few steps behind. I hunted a deer and a stag before I declared myself satisfied. Then, though he still was amazed and slightly angry because of my decision, Kevin led me back to the house, though I considered myself perfectly able to follow our own scents back there.

"Lizzie!" I cried, jumping into my friend's arms as soon as I saw her. Kevin and I had ended up in the big clearing I had seen through the window of the small room, which was even more crowded than it had been before. Standing there were about eighteen vampires, without including Kevin and I, who had just arrived. All of them, excepting Lizzie and Sarah, were males. I could only recognise the two I had seen the night before, one who I remembered was called Caleb and had bitten Lizzie and the other, whose name I didn't know, that had killed Katherine.

"Everyone, these are our new additions," Kevin shouted in a voice full of authority. "Their names are Elizabeth and Nicole, and I expect all of you to treat our new guests with respect."

All the men there nodded respectfully and resumed their activities. The great majority of them seemed to be fighting against someone else, as if they were training. The question here was, for what?

"How did your hunting go?" Lizzie asked me, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Okay, I guess," I shuddered. "Kevin got pretty angry, though."

"Why?" she inquired curiously.

"Because I refused to hunt humans," I shuddered dismissively, but everyone there froze at my comment.

"What?" the male whose name I didn't know and who I thought was with Sarah snapped.

"It seems our friend Nicole has a preference for animal blood, Patrick," Kevin explained slowly, as if expecting some type of reaction from him.

"That's stupid!" Patrick exclaimed angrily. "She can't drink animal blood. We need them to be strong if we want to succeed, Kevin! I agreed to you bringing her here, even when she was a woman because I know Sarah is a good fighter despite her sex, but we can't have her drinking animal blood!"

"And what do you want to do, Patrick?" Kevin asked, his temper rising. "We can't force her!"

"If she doesn't drink human blood, she's useless!" Patrick yelled at him, everyone else watching the exchange silently. "If she's useless she should be disposed of!"

If I had been human, I'd already be dead. Luckily, my improved sight allowed me to follow Patrick's sudden movements and move out of his way before he threw himself on top of me. He growled fiercely and I did the same, studying each of his movements calmly. The next time he charged against me, I was ready. A few seconds before his body collided with mine, I jumped and twisted in mid-air, landing on his back. Unluckily, I didn't take into consideration his years of experience and, before I could do something to avoid it, he had me pinned to the ground. However, he had forgotten about my superior strength and, before he could hurt me in any way, I sent him flying against a tree, as if he was as light as a rag doll.

Patrick regained his balance instantly and jumped against me yet again. I pushed my hands out and closed my eyes ready for the collision, but it never came. Instead, Patrick's body was floating three feet around the ground, held by an invisible force.

"Put him down, Nicole, I think he got the message," Kevin said, placing his hand on my shoulder. I obeyed, though I didn't know why I had done so. I guess I was kind of entranced by this handsome vampire who had been the one to turn me, "That's the reason I don't care if she drinks animal blood or not."

"How did that happen?" Sarah asked, rushing forwards to help her mate to his feet, who had fallen to the ground as soon as I stopped concentrating on him.

"Nicole has a very powerful gift," Kevin informed with a shudder. "Does anyone else have something against her?"

Everyone present shook their heads, watching me with a newly found respect and awe, while Lizzie smiled at me.

"Come over here," Caleb called Lizzie and I and, after exchanging a puzzled look, we ran to his side, curious to know what he wanted. "Powers or not, you two should train if you want to survive."

"Survive?" Lizzie asked, completely confused as was I.

"Correct," he confirmed. "I don't know if Kevin told you this, but when you live as a vampire, life is a battlefield. Covens fight against one another to gain control over hunting areas. Houston is a very populated town, therefore, there will be other vampires who wish to use it as their hunting territory. Our mission is to keep them out of our territory by any means necessary, even if it includes fighting them off."

"And you'll train us?" I asked.

"Yes," he nodded. "By general rule, newborn vampires are guided by their instincts and don't think their moves carefully. In your case though, you did quite well fighting Patrick off. If it was any other newborn he would have decided to attack, he or she wouldn't have lasted a second against him."

"Why?" Lizzie inquired."Because Kevin, Sarah, Patrick and I are older than all of you," he said simply. "We not only have more combat experience, but we also aren't newborns and can think clearly. Now, the only way to kill one of us is to tear him or her apart and burn the pieces. If you don't burn the body parts to ashes, they will reassemble on their own."

"That's totally gross," I said, utterly disgusted, making Lizzie smile and Caleb crack a small smile. Maybe Kevin and Caleb weren't too bad, but I would never forgive Sarah and Patrick for killing my friends in front of me. I promised myself that, if I ever had the chance, I would take revenge. Until then, I focused on training, not only on vampire combat, but also to learn how to use my powers.

**A/N: Hey everybody! Well, I'm kinda in a high right now because I returned home at 7 am from going out dancing with my friends and wrote this chapter just for you, so excuse me if there's any mistake in it! Happy anniversary of the first patriotic government for those from Argentina! Hope you like! Review! If I get a lot of them I'll post a lemon next chapter ) xoxo**


	6. Broken

Chapter 5: Broken

**Warning: This is one of the chapters that account for the story being M rated, and not just because of the language used!**

_**1867**_

"Nicole! Where the fuck were you?"

I turned to my left, following the origin of the sound and found myself laying my eyes on no other than Kevin. _Busted! _I thought to myself as I ran up to him from my hiding spot behind the first line of trees of the forest surrounding the place I never considered home, but where I lived nevertheless. I had hoped for no one to realise my absence, so that I would have been able to sneak into the house without anyone realising I had been gone. I guess luck wasn't on my side.

"Um… I was hunting," I lied innocently, but Kevin knew me too well to fall for that.

"The hell you were!" he snapped. He hated it when we lied to him; he was the leader of our coven after all, even if I refused to see him as an authoritative figure. He stood in front of me, his blood red eyes glowing with anger. I must admit that, despite my powers, he looked pretty intimidating at the moment; he was clearly furious at my disobedience and the fact that the top of my head barely reached his pointed chin didn't improve things for me. "You went to see them again, didn't you?"

"Who?" I asked, playing dumb. But I knew who he was referring to, and he was right. I had gone to spy on my parents and to visit my brother's grave. I really couldn't be blamed for that. It had been almost two years since the last time I had seen my mum and dad and, at that moment, I certainly could do with some fatherly figure. My brother, on the other hand, had always been the one I leaned on when I needed someone to cheer me up, so the least I could do for him was visit his grave. Even when he wasn't actually there, his presence was never absent; his memory was always near me, keeping me company on my darkest moments.

"You did it!" he huffed in annoyance, reading the answer in my topaz eyes. "You went to visit them even after I told you not to!"

"And who are you to tell me what I can or can't do?" I yelled at him, quickly loosing my temper. At any other time, everyone who lived with us would have immediately been there, eager to hear another one of my usual discussions with the coven leader. I guessed they were away hunting or something, for no one was near us and I couldn't smell them inside the house either.

"I am your creator, dammit!" he hissed angrily. "If you won't respect me for being the leader here, at least do so for the fact that I gave life to you!"

"Who do you think you are? God?" I sneered back, fury and sarcasm dripping from my voice, causing the earth to shake beneath our feet slightly. "You didn't create me! You just damned me to this life without my consent! You took everything and everyone I loved away from me!"

"This is stupid!" he snarled, his face not an inch from mine, an expression of utmost concentration grazing his manly features. I could feel his chocolate scent in my mouth and, without knowing why, it made me want to smash my lips to his in a fierce kiss.

"Oh, is it?" I continued, ignoring my momentary lapse in judgement. "_You_ allowed Sarah and Patrick to kill two of my friends, _you _told Caleb to turn Lizzie, even when she had her whole life ahead of her and a man who loved her dearly, _you _made it impossible for me to ever see my family again and _you_ turned me into an ageless being at the age of sixteen! I had everything! A loving family, a promising future and countless marriage proposals, one of which might have been from a man I could actually love!"

"You don't need any of those," he mumbled, his voice deep and rough with an emotion I clearly identified as lust. Over the two years I had lived among dozens of male vampires, I had grown accustomed to their lusty looks and harassing. I just never knew Kevin saw me in the same way they did. "You have me."

It was then that his lips descended on mine. It wasn't the sweet and gentle kiss I had expected to be my first **(A/N: Remember it's a completely different time and women didn't make out with men they weren't actually married to like nowadays)**, but it was hard, possessive and filled with desire. I stood shocked for a moment, but that didn't prevent Kevin from grabbing me by the waist with one of his strong arms and pulling my body flush against his. His other hand followed, but found its way to my butt, pressing my hips into his.

"What are you doing?" I asked as soon as Kevin's lips left mine, to explore the entire area of my jaw line and throat, kissing and sucking at any piece of skin his expert mouth found.

"You are _mine_," he whispered in my ear, sending shivers down my spine. I wanted to stop him, but I just couldn't. My body wasn't responding to my brain orders and, instead, I stood limply in Kevin's arms. "I told everyone I transformed you because of your powers, which is partially true, but you're just too beautiful for me not to want you."

He bit on my earlobe, causing a moan to escape my lips. Smiling at my reaction, he directed his mouth against mine forcefully again, though I didn't protest when his eager tongue accessed my mouth through my slightly parted lips, exploring every corner of it. This time, I acted upon his actions, though it was a reaction I was never conscious of choosing and that I later regretted. I guess I was enthralled by him; it didn't matter why, I had fallen under his spell all the same.

Throwing my arms around his neck, my hands fisting his dark hair, I pressed myself harder into him, causing him to groan in arousal as my hips came in contact with the big bulge at his pants. He smiled at the contact, but recovered quickly and, picking me up bridal style, though never breaking the kiss, he swiftly carried me inside the house, throwing me harshly into the bed I woke up on after my transformation.

Not wasting one single second, he threw his shirt over his head, quickly assuming a position above me, between my open legs. We resumed our make out, his kissing so hard I was sure they would have left my lips bruised and swollen if I wasn't a vampire. He wasn't being kind and loving with me; he never was. But somehow, maybe because of this sick, perverted power he had over me, I was prepared to do and give him anything he wanted. It was horrible and I felt helpless but, at the moment, I did nothing except following along with anything Kevin did. My alarm was set off, though, when I felt Kevin's hand slowly sneaking up my thigh, lifting the skirt of my dress as it inched closer and closer to my underwear.

"Stop!" I panted as I broke off the kiss. I gasped as I saw Kevin's eyes glazing with a black fire. It was dangerous and, if I had been a sensible person, I would have stopped all that before it was too late. But I wasn't and that's the reason all those bad things always happened to me.

"Why?" he asked huskily as he kissed his way down my throat and closer to my chest. "I want you. Right now. You'll be my mate and everyone will know you're mine and no one else's."

He didn't even give me time to respond, though, as his teeth tore the corset of my dress, giving him access to my heaving chest. Loosing no time, he began planting searing open-mouthed kisses on one of my breasts, while he tended to the other with the hand that wasn't concerned with caressing my almost bare thighs.

"Please," I whimpered, trying to get Kevin to stop with my words, given that my body was no longer responding to my commands.

"You are mine, Nicole," Kevin said slowly, looking right into my golden eyes with his almost black ones. I don't know exactly why, but I was possessed to nod obediently at his sentence. He smiled dazzlingly, though evilly, and continued to kiss my chest, throat and lips as his hands returned to their job of getting rid of my underwear.

Finally growing tired and impatient of fumbling with the countless straps of my dress in a feeble attempt to get rid of it, he tore it apart savagely, throwing the useless pieces of cloth aside and hovering over my small body with his muscled one. Going unnoticed to me, Kevin had gotten rid of his pants and underwear and, before I had the chance to realise what we were about to do, or to protest even, he entered me hardly and quickly. I gasped in pain, feeling something inside me break and, therefore, shutting my eyelids and hoping Kevin would wait until I caught my breath before going on.

Needless to say, he didn't. As swiftly as he did the first time, he pushed into me again and again, setting a pace that wasn't gentle or sweet at all, but demanding and careless. He went on like that, driving me in and out of several orgasms, until he had his own release. He then collapsed on the bed next to me, smirking as if he was proud of himself, but making no move to wrap a protective arm around me, or to give me a chaste, but sweet kiss.

It was then that I realised I meant nothing to him. I was just a possession, not someone he truly cared about. I was just a quick fuck to him.

I felt dirty, tainted. Why on earth had I done something like that? It was totally unlike me, for god's sake! Even when I used to speak my mind and wasn't ashamed to fight for what I believed, I would always be that innocent and sweet girl that just wanted her big brother to come back home and hug her. I wanted to feel protected, like I only did when I was on my brother's embrace. I wanted him to tower over my small height, like he did when I was small, hug me and tell me that everything would be okay, even when I knew it wasn't. My mouth was dry with words I wanted to utter. I wanted to apologize. To Helen and Katherine for letting them die, to my parents for abandoning them when they had already lost one child, to Jasper for letting him down by acting like I did, and to myself. For giving myself away so easily, for not giving myself enough credit, for letting Kevin use me and then toss me aside, breaking whatever was left whole inside of me.

But that part of me was gone. The sweetness of my personality had vanished along with the lives of Helen and Katherine; my innocence, a few minutes ago, when I had allowed Kevin to take me like that. And the feeling of protection was gone with Jasper and, like him, it wasn't coming back. I was broken and nothing could put the pieces back together. I was only an empty carcass of the beautiful person I used to be, both on the inside and on the outside. The only beauty I found in me then was if I looked at my reflection, though I couldn't help but being bitter about it. If I hadn't looked the way I did, Kevin wouldn't have taken any kind of sexual interest in me and, though there would be many pieces of me missing, I'd still have my innocence and youth; my most important traits.

Now, I had lost them; and I knew it would take a miracle to restore them.

**A/N: Well... that was sad, but it's necessary for the future of the story... you'll see! Anyway, I hope you liked it! Please review and tell me! xoxo**


	7. Persuasion

Chapter 6: Persuasion

_**1925**_

Sixty years. Sixty years had passed since I became a vampire, since I left my life behind, everything I had once loved: my lifestyle, my parents, my humanity. Even though I had never drank human blood or hurt an innocent person in my entire existence as a vampire, I could feel my humanity slipping away from me. Caleb had told Lizzie and I we would have to fight to keep our territory, and we did. Battle after battle, I could see myself slowly getting used to the horrors of this war. Every vampire I killed with my bare hands took me one step away from the sweet, innocent Nicole I once was and that had fallen to pieces after she had sex with Kevin.

I didn't want to go on with that lifestyle, but I wasn't aware there was another way to live for people like me. After all, I was a monster. I may not drink human blood, but I was designed to do so. I was a killing machine. Deathly lethal and precise.

Against all odds, Lizzie had survived all the battles as well. She was even better at fighting than Patrick or Sarah and almost as good as Kevin, Caleb or myself. The six of us were the only vampires in the coven that weren't newborns and, at the moment, we only had six or so of them. They weren't completely necessary.

After much time and practise, I had managed to fully control my powers, and the possibilities were unlimited. I could change my appearance as I wished, control the elements of nature as I wanted and even turn a vampire to dust with a simple look. No matter how big the opposing coven was, I would get rid of half of it by myself.

At the beginning, though, my talent wasn't as developed, so I was forced to fight the normal way. I was also quite good at it and the only one who I was never able to beat was Kevin, though I could kill him with my powers if I had to. He had allowed me to continue with my animal diet, instead of forcing me to feed of humans in the first place and he never complained as he noticed how my eyes slowly turned from the red I first had to a bright golden. I guess it didn't matter, because I could make my eyes look the colour I chose if I used my power, but still other vampires we met, specially those of enemy covens, were very intrigued by the difference in my eye colour.

Lizzie, on the other hand didn't try to fight her thirst for human blood and drank it guiltlessly. I didn't comment on it, knowing it was natural for a vampire to kill humans, though I didn't think much about it. She took longer than I did to adapt to this new lifestyle and I could understand why. I missed my family the same way she missed hers, but she was forced to leave behind William, the man he loved, as well. A few years later, though, she let go of her human memories and she and Caleb were now mates.

If Kevin had allowed Lizzie to live, even when she had no gift and her newborn strength was gone, it wasn't because of the love she and his friend Caleb shared, but because he was afraid of loosing me if something happened to her. He was right though; if it wasn't for Lizzie and Caleb showing a deep affection for the other and my friend's wish to remain in Houston with him, I would have escaped that life after my first battle. I couldn't take it, and, by that, I also meant Kevin's periodical needs, which he used me to satisfy. But Lizzie was my responsibility. It was my fault that she was turned into a vampire and that Katherine and Helen were killed that night sixty years ago, so I wouldn't go anywhere without her.

"Nicole!" Lizzie screamed, pulling me out of my thoughts. I lifted my eyes to find that, in front of us, a herd of crazed newborns was quickly approaching through the woods that surrounded the cottage where we lived. Our forces gathered around me in an instant: six newborns, Lizzie, Caleb, Sarah, Patrick, Kevin and I were supposed to fight off about twenty newborns, led by a female dark haired vampire with Mexican features. If it wasn't for my power, I would be running away for my life.

"Any special one?" Kevin asked Caleb in a whisper so that the approaching enemy wouldn't be able to hear.

"No, though the creator could give us some trouble. She's a good fighter," he informed.

"Take care of her," Kevin commanded eyeing his friend carefully and sending the quickest glance at Lizzie and then at me. It was so fast I wasn't even sure I hadn't imagined it.

"Of course," he answered slowly, happy for the opportunity of battling an experienced fighter.

"Take care," Lizzie advised before jumping into battle, everyone else following her.

I disappeared between the clashing bodies of newborns, killing anyone that came near me. I pitied them, actually. They didn't even have time to see their death coming as they charged against me. They couldn't know I would be able to turn them into ashes with a mere look, ending their existences before they could do anything to prevent it.

"Caleb! No!" I turned around and saw it as if it was happening in slow motion. The enemy leader throwing Caleb's dismembered body into a huge fire that someone had started before facing my screaming friend with an evil glint in her eyes.

Caleb was one of the best fighters in our coven. If the woman had managed to kill him so easily, Lizzie wouldn't stand a chance against her. But my friend didn't stop to consider this. Her rage at loosing her mate was too big to allow her to think clearly and she charged at the Mexican vampire without thinking it twice.

"Lizzie, stop!" I screamed, knowing it was no use. I could have paid a high prize for that moment of distraction. Noticing I wasn't focusing on the fight, a newborn took the opportunity to jump at me and attempt to kill me. Before his teeth got anywhere near my neck, though, he was nothing but a pile of ashes being carried away by the blowing breeze that smelt heavily of death and burning flesh.

Turning around and running across the battlefield, I realised I was too late to help my friend. Before I could reach the two fighting woman, the black haired vampire jumped on my friend's back and placed her hands on both side of her face. With a sickening noise that I could hear even above the battle yells, Lizzie's head was no longer attached to her shoulders and, very soon after, pieces of her body were turning into ashes besides Caleb's in the growing fire.

"No!" I yelled desperately, quickening my pace, even though I knew it was no use. Lizzie was gone. "You bitch!"

My body was shaking with grief and fury, my vision acquired a red tint and my powers activated, almost as if they were begging me to use them. But I didn't. That woman didn't deserve the quick death my powers could provide. I was going to kill her slowly and painfully, so that the last thing she saw before going to wherever cursed people like us went when they died, was my face.

"Coming to save your friend, little one?" she mocked, laughing at my obvious young age. "Well, you're too late."

"You're going to pay for that," I hissed slowly, my beautiful voice low and threatening for the first time since my transformation. Before she could react, I charged against her, both of us falling to the floor in a mess of limbs and hair.

I guess that, for an outsider, the only possible way to tell us apart would have been our hair colour. We were moving so fast that our bodies and faces became a blur and we were so focused on our fight that we didn't even realise the battle was coming to an end around us.

Jumping to one side so as to avoid her claw-like hand from tearing my arm apart, I practically danced out of her reach and positioned myself behind her. Before she could adjust her position to face me once again, I had her arms pinned behind her back with my hands gripping her wrists tightly at an awkward angle.

"I wish I could say this won't hurt," I whispered in her ear. "But it will."

With one swift movement, her arms were torn away from the rest of her body and, as I didn't want her body to be consumed by the same fire that had burnt to ashes Lizzie's pieces, I created a new fire behind me using my power. As for the woman in front of me, she fell to the ground, screaming in pain, cursing me in between her yells. With another cold and precise movement, I tore her legs away and threw them to the fire behind me, so that they joined her arms. More screaming came, but it didn't affect me the same way my other victims did. My rage was behind any possibility of mercy. I smiled evilly and knelt beside what remained of her body.

"What's your name?" I asked in my normal, childish and delicate voice.

"Maria," she replied, between her tearless sobs.

"Well, Maria," I said sweetly, "tell whoever you meet up there that I say hi."

With that, and taking her head between my hands the same way she had done with Lizzie, I tore her head apart from her limbless torso and threw both into the fire. My evil smile vanished as fast as Maria's screams had done before I finished her off, replaced by a broken expression. Lizzie was gone. She had left me, like Katherine and Helen had done, like Jasper had done before them. I was alone.

"Nicole," a hesitant voice called from behind me. I turned around and saw Kevin, looking at me with an expression filled with concern and grief. After all, he had lost his friend as well. But there was something wrong. The sadness I saw on his face didn't reach his burgundy eyes, that were as cold and emotionless as always and, instead, shined with a feeling I couldn't quite place.

"They're gone," I said numbly, looking back at the flames that had burnt the remains of Lizzie and Caleb, along with countless other newborns whose names no one cared about.

"I know, sweetie," he whispered soothingly, hugging me to his chest, surprising me quite a lot. _Since when does he act nicely towards me?_ "But, wherever they are I'm sure they would want us to go on with our lives, instead of mourning for them."

"How are the others?" I couldn't have cared less about his answer, but I asked out of routine, and not real concern.

"Sarah and Patrick are fine, and two newborns survived the battle," he informed, still holding me, too close for my liking.

"That's good to hear," I said, the lie in my voice obvious for anyone who knew me well. Unfortunately, the last person that did had just died.

"Come on, I should get you inside," he said, letting my body escape from the cage his arms had formed around it, but grabbing my hand possessively and dragging me towards the house. However, I didn't move.

"I'm not staying," I said with my coldest voice. It was unfeeling, detached. In most ways, it wasn't mine.

"What are you talking about?" Kevin snapped, returning to his normal self as he grabbed me by the shoulders and turned me around so I was facing him.

"I'm leaving," I explained, though I was sure he knew what I meant the first time.

"You can't leave," he hissed, his voice so angry and threatening that it brought me out of the shock I was going through after my friend's sudden death.

"I can do whatever I want," I told him, my voice as menacing and dark as his.

"Ungrateful child!" he yelled, slapping me across the face. It didn't hurt, but it was completely humiliating and degrading. "I gave you life and this is how you pay me!"

"You didn't give me a new life! You cursed me!" I snarled, my temper rising after being hit like that. "You acted out of greed and thirst for power! You used me! You knew I was going to be powerful and that I would protect you pathetic coven as long as there was someone in it I cared for to protect as well, so you transformed Lizzie, even when you never saw her as anything more than a newborn who was allowed to live too much! But now that she's gone there's nothing left for me here."

"She would have wanted you to stay here," he waffled, not knowing what else to say to make me stay. "She would have wanted me to protect you, now that she won't be able to."

"You didn't even know her," I said, laughing at his poor attempt to keep me at his side. Whatever force once allowed him to have control over me was gone, at least for the moment. "Only Caleb and I did." Caleb so brave, yet so stupid. If he hadn't attempted to dispose of Maria on his own, none of this would have happened. How could he be so reckless? Then, I remembered. "You wanted it to happen."

"What?" he asked in confusion, but he couldn't fool me. I could tell he was just pretending and that he knew what I meant.

"You told Caleb to take care of the leader," I began, seeing the fear settling in his face. "You knew she was too good a fighter for him to succeed. You knew Lizzie would try to take revenge and that she would fall as well. You wanted it to happen."

"I made a mistake," Kevin lied apologetically , knowing he had it coming. "I underestimated the woman and Caleb trusted my words too much."

"No, he trusted _you_," I corrected him, my anger making the wind fly around us. "He believed you were his friend! But he was wrong! Why did you do it?"

"Do what?" he asked, scared shitless as a ring of fire erupted around us, making it impossible for him to run away. That was the first time Kevin showed his fear of me, even when he always felt it. I guess he too realised his control over me was gone.

"Why did you kill your friend, knowing it would kill mine in the process?" I shouted, the fire growing as my voice raised in volume.

"I didn't know, I swear," he whimpered, falling to his knees when two balls of fire appeared in my hands, without harming me, but ready to be launched straight at his face.

"Don't lie!" I growled as I punched one side of his face, the fire in my hand burning the skin of his cheek.

"I wanted them out of the way so it could be you and me forever," he confessed, hiding his face behind his shaking hands. I stood there, frozen in shock once again, the circle of fire disappearing. Once again, one of my friends got killed because of me.

"You're pathetic," I spat at the trembling figure lying on the ground. "Now that I see who you really are, I wouldn't be with you even if you were the last vampire in the world. You're a sad excuse of a man. Coward!"

"Please, please, don't kill me," he pleaded, getting to his knees like a beggar. "I love you."

"No you don't," I laughed bitterly. "You never did. All you wanted was to have some control over me so that I would protect you and your coven and do your dirty job for you."

Before I could attempt anything else, though, Kevin hit he hard in the stomach, throwing me against a tree and giving him time to run . If I hadn't been so distracted, I would have realised what he meant to do and stopped him, but I didn't. The same invisible force that had prevented me from doing anything when Kevin wanted to have sex was now making it impossible for me to move. It wasn't much of a force, though, but a certain unwillingness of my muscles to move, despite my brain's orders.

"It's a pity my power doesn't work on you like it did before," he mused as he paced near me. "I guess it's because you're too angry because of the girl's death."

"What the hell are you talking about? I swear to God I'll fucking kill you!" I snarled furiously.

"My dearest Nikki, I have the power of persuasion," he informed. That's when everything fit all of a sudden. My inability to react when we had sex, my desire to fight for him and obey his orders when he was near me and the impossibility to move at the moment, as he was about to escape. "I have to leave now, otherwise you'll probably kill me," he sighed, as if he was disappointed on something. "But I'll come back for you. I promise."

He leaned in to kiss me softly on the lips and, giving me a small smile and a wink, he left. For the first time since I was changed, though, I was scared. I didn't doubt his promise; Kevin _would_ come back for me, and I couldn't face him, not when he could control me with his powers. Let's face it; I could be one of the most powerful vampires ever, but, when it came to matters of the mind, I was screwed. I had to leave; I had to run away somewhere Kevin wouldn't find me.

Before I left, though, there were certain matters I had to attend to. Sarah and Patrick. They felt guilty for killing Katherine and Helen the first night I met them, but hadn't Lizzie killed other humans to feed of during the past thirty years? For Sarah and Patrick, it wasn't a matter of killing for fun; they did it to survive. I couldn't blame them for that, even though I would never forgive them for murdering my friends. Anyway, they had been nothing but polite towards Lizzie and I all those years, in spite of my horrible behaviour towards them. I got into the house and found them sitting on the couch, holding hands and gazing sadly at me, as if they thought I was there to put an end to their existences.

"Before you do it, Nicole, we want you to know that we didn't kill your friends to cause you pain intentionally," Sarah began, her eyes shining with sincerity.

"And if we caused you pain by doing it, we want to apologize," Patrick added, tightening his grip on his mate's hand.

"I thank you for your honest words," I said slowly and calmly. "But you don't have to worry. I don't intend to kill you."

"You don't?" Sarah asked, hope and confusion filling her face.

"No," I said clearly. "I can't punish you for something you did out of your need for survival. Even though I wish you hadn't chosen my friends to feed from, I understand that you weren't looking to hurt anyone with your actions. I'm the one who's sorry for the way I treated you all these years."

"You don't have to apologize for anything," Sarah said dismissively.

"Maybe for kicking my ass and wrecking my pride during our fights," Patrick teased friendly, making Sarah and I laugh heartedly.

"So, we heard you were leaving," Sarah continued, using a serious tone once again, but without mentioning anything about Kevin. After all, Caleb was their friend too and I was sure that, if Kevin hadn't escaped in fear that I would kill him, Patrick would have. "Where are you planning to go?"

"I don't know," I said honestly. "I want to see the world, study something: languages, literature, law, medicine. We're immortals for god's sake! The possibilities are unlimited."

"And how are you planning to do that?" Patrick asked, puzzled.

"You have to remember that my control is better than yours after all these years of drinking animal blood," I reminded him. "I think I'll be able to sit inside a classroom without killing anyone. Besides, with my powers I can change the way I look so that it appears I've changed over the years."

"But, why?" Sarah asked, as if she couldn't understand.

"Because I'm tired," I sighed. "I don't want to keep fighting my whole life. I don't want to kill others to protect a hunting territory I don't even hunt in. Wouldn't you like to know if there's another way of living instead of this one?"

"Yes," Patrick said without any trace of doubt in his eyes, gazing at his mate with concern and love.

"But, Patrick -"

"No, Sarah, I can't stay here, knowing that you're risking your life every time we have to fight," he interrupted, apparently making his mind about something when he saw his mate nodding in acceptance. "We too will leave this place to find somewhere we can live without having to fight all the time. Maybe somewhere North."

"We'd also like to do the things you are talking about," Sarah added. "Living in a house like humans do, studying, working."

I thought about it. I was always a strong and independent person, I didn't have much trouble resisting human blood, even when I was a newborn. But, after decades feeding of humans, I doubted Sarah and Patrick would do well being near them.

"I'm sure you'll be able to," I said sincerely. "But, if you're going to settle in one place, you guys need to drop your diet. I doubt that people in a town won't be alarmed by sudden disappearances each week or so."

Sarah and Patrick looked at each other. Sarah looked determined, but Patrick wasn't too sure. I could tell he didn't think he had such a great self-control.

"We can try," he gave in, looking at his mate, who smiled happily.

"Don't worry, it'll become easier with time," I reassured him.

"I can do it," he said, now determined.

"Great!" Sarah giggled excitedly. "Where do you think we should go?"

"I don't quite know where I'll be going myself," I shuddered.

"Maybe we could go somewhere North," Patrick suggested.

"Yeah, I'm tired of the South and its wars," Sarah huffed."We should probably find cloudy and rainy places to live in do that we could go out during the day as well," I said, putting my thoughts into words.

"I'd love that," Sarah agreed.

"Well, then North and rainy it is," Patrick said with mock excitement, making us laugh.

"We'll keep in touch," Sarah promised, surprising me with a small hug.

"I'd like that," I replied honestly, as I headed for the door. "See y'all later!"

**A/N: I'm so so sorry I wasn't able to update this last week! If I have to be honest, I've been over the top with the school's musical production of Grease (you can watch it on you tube if you browse for amigliora, it's really good) and I had to stay until 10pm for rehearsals all week! Today I skipped school so I'm able to update this chappie for you, my loyal readers! Hope you enjoy it! Reviews are much appreciated, suggestions are taken into consideration and flames will be laughed at! xoxo**


	8. Forks High

Chapter 7: Forks High

_**Present day**_

"Why won't you come with me this year?" I whined.

"Nicole, we don't want to go to high school again," Sarah explained yet again.

"Besides, acting like adoptive parents is far better than anything we've done before," Patrick laughed.

During the past couple of decades, the three of us had been travelling together, sometimes crossing ways with nomad vampires, but never fighting. Sarah and Patrick had joined me some time after they got their thirst under control. Sometimes, though, they would spend some years on their own because, although they liked my company the same way I enjoyed theirs, we all needed time apart sometimes. We had stayed in different places, but we always had to move when people started to notice Sarah and Patrick didn't grow old, as I could make it seem I did with my power. Their now golden eyes allowed them to live among normal people without standing in a crowd, if any of our kind could pass unnoticed. I, on the other hand, loved to change my appearance as we moved from one place to another and had discovered that it amused me to gain the attention of every male in a room by simply walking in. We also changed names and, after some practise, I managed to use my powers to forge documentations for the three of us.

Over the years, Patrick had studied as many languages as he could. Sarah and I knew how to talk fluently in the most common languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian and even Latin, but, in addition to these, Patrick handled about half a dozen others that belonged to ancient civilizations or small tribes almost no one knew of, scattered around the globe. Besides, he had several degrees in literature of different places and cultures over the world and the years.

Sarah, on the other hand, loved anything that had to do with history. She knew everything about European, Asian, American and even African cultures, every war that was ever fought, even those humans never heard of, history of art, of literature, philosophy, theology, geography and anything that was related to a social science.

As for myself, I loved anything that had to do with sciences or mathematics. I had studied engineering, physics, medicine, biology and many others, medicine being my favourite. It had taken me a lot of time to control my thirst to the extent of being able to treat patients with open wounds, but I had succeeded.

At the moment, Sarah and Patrick had decided to work like a history teacher and a translator in Seattle but, as we didn't want to have our house there, we had settled for a not so modest house (that, in my opinion, was way too big and luxurious for the three of us) in a small town near Seattle, called Forks. Sarah and Patrick didn't mind having to drive to town every day for work, given that, with our not so modest vehicles, they could arrive there in little more than an hour.

Cars were something I didn't complain about. On the contrary, I loved using the skills I had learnt when I studied mechanics to make modifications to our cars to make them faster and better.

"Now go get dressed," Sarah commanded, taking her motherly role way too far. "School starts in an hour. And you," she added, turning to Patrick, "get ready for work."

"Sir, yes Sir," Patrick and I teased her, with a mock military salute, running up the stairs to our rooms before Sarah could get us.

My bedroom was great, there was no other way to describe it. It was bigger than our garage, which, considering that we kept five cars and a motorcycle there and that there was still place for more vehicles, was quite considerable. The walls were painted a pale blue colour and the floor was covered in a thick, silvery carpet that was great to walk on. I had a huge stereo with my enormous CD collection ordered in shelves in a corner, a huge bed that occupied the centre of the room, a plasma in front of it, and a mahogany desk with the latest computer available on top. One of the walls was completely occupied with a huge window, that allowed the sunlight to fill the room and, another, was completely made of a set of mirror doors, that opened into my huge walk-in closet.

To be honest, my closet was bigger than my room and it was filled to the top with jeans, shirts, shorts, skirts, dresses, lingerie, swim-suits, bags and shoes of every existent colours and shapes. During our trips to France, Italy, Germany and many other countries around the world, Sarah and I always spent an entire week shopping while we used Patrick as the bag-carrier, so, besides from my great amount of clothes, they came from different parts of the globe.

I looked at my reflection in the mirror. This time, I looked the same I did in my human life, before I was transformed, but with my perfect vampire features. My blond hair fell in soft waves to my waist, shining and soft as usual. My snow-white vampire skin now looked a healthy, soft golden colour. My topaz eyes looked their previous sapphire blue, but I had added some golden streaks to make them prettier. My body, though slim and curvy as always, was the usual 5'6 I was before I transformed and, though slightly developed for my sixteen-year-old age, wouldn't look out of the ordinary.

Sighing, I submerged myself into my closet, looking for some clothes to wear for my first day at a new school. Seeing it wasn't raining, I chose a dark jean skirt that reached up to mid-thigh, a white t-shirt that read 'Bite me!' in silver letters, and my favourite black leather jacket, as well as my black and white checked vans. I applied some black eyeliner under my eyes to make the blue stand out and a clear lip gloss.

"Nicole, you have to get going!" Sarah's voice came up the stairs.

"I'm coming!" I said back in a normal voice, knowing that she would hear me perfectly well.

Looking at myself in the mirror once more and declaring myself satisfied, I left my room and went down the stairs. I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm quite vain, even for vampire standards. I could perfectly alter my appearance to look completely ordinary and dress with a simple pair of jeans and a t-shirt, but I loved making men drool after me everywhere I went. I liked being the centre of attention, so what? After everything I went through, I deserved to have my fun.

"You look great, Nikki!" Sarah complimented when he saw me coming down the stairs. "Are you going to take the Corvette?"

"No, I'll take my baby today," I said, lifting the keys from a small desk where we left our car keys with my power and levitating them towards my open hand. Sarah and Patrick both had two cars each, but I chose to get a motorcycle instead of a second car, so I had bought my precious black and silver Ducati.

"Okay, have a nice day," she said, excitedly, kissing me on the cheek and running upstairs to check if Patrick was ready yet.

I shook my head and went to the garage, where I got onto my baby, placing the black helmet on my head, so as not to be stopped by the cops and get fined, and opened the garage door with a small remote control. Placing the strip of the black messenger bag with my things for school across my chest and left shoulder so that it wouldn't fall during the trip to school, I started the engine and, releasing the clutch, sprinted forwards, soon leaving behind the small mansion that was now my home.

The house was conveniently located inside the forest of Forks, far away from any other residence, so that humans wouldn't be able to see us if we chose to be in the gardens during a sunny day. It was really a beautiful place, although I wouldn't have liked it too much if I had still been human. It was too cold and rainy for it to be comfortable for them to live there, but for us vampires was a perfect place to hide.

I arrived at the institute with quite a lot of extra time so I went directly to the office, which was located at the front part of the school, hiding the parking lot from sight. There was a red, rusty truck parked outside. I hoped it belonged to another new student, so that I wouldn't be the only one new at school. Leaving my bike against a wall and the helmet on top of it, I opened the door to the small office, getting in quickly.

Inside, it was brightly lit, and warmer than I thought it would be. The office was small; a little waiting area with padded folding chairs, orange-flecked commercial carpet, notices and awards cluttering the walls, a big clock ticking loudly. Plants grew everywhere in large plastic pots, as if there wasn't enough greenery outside. The room was cut in half by a long counter, cluttered with wire baskets full of papers and brightly coloured flyers taped to its front. There were three desks behind the counter, one of which was manned by a large, red-haired woman wearing glasses. She was wearing a purple t-shirt, which immediately made me feel overdressed and was explaining something to a pale, brunette girl.

The red-haired woman didn't look up before she talked. "Can I help you?"

"I'm Nicole Whitlock," I informed her, and saw the immediate awareness light her eyes as she looked up. I was expected, a topic of gossip in that small town, no doubt. Both the red head and the brunette girl gaped at me as they saw what I looked like.

"Of course," she said, when she regained the ability to speak. She dug through a precariously stacked pile of documents on her desk till she found the ones she was looking for. "I have your schedule right here, and a map of the school." She brought several sheets to the counter to show me and the other girl.

She went through my classes for both of us, highlighting the best route to each on the map, and gave us a slip to have each teacher sign, which we were to bring back at the end of the day. She smiled at us and hoped that we would like it in Forks. I smiled back, but I could see the doubt in the other girl's eyes.

"Hi, I'm Nikki," I greeted, extending my hand as soon as we were out of the small office. She shook it, without saying anything about its coldness.

"I'm Bella, you're new here too then?" she asked in a pleasant voice.

"Is it that obvious?" I joked, making her giggle.

"At least we're not alone," she commented positively and somewhat relieved. "I'm starting junior year, and you?"

"Me too," I told her.

"But, how old are you?" she asked sceptically, noticing my young appearance.

"I'm sixteen, but I skipped a year when I was younger," I lied smoothly. "You?"

"I'm seventeen," she smiled. "I'm glad I have someone I know in my year. Do we share any classes?"

I pulled my schedule and she did the same. "We have English the first period and Gym the last together," I said, studying both our schedules. "Sit with me in English?""Sure," she agreed with a small smile. I liked her. Except for her creamy skin, she looked like Lizzie, with her dark hair and eyes, and she appeared to be shy and nice like my dead friend.

"Need a ride?" she asked, motioning for the red truck I had seen before I got inside the office, not noticing the blue bike parked behind her.

"I've got mine, thanks," I said, pointing towards my blue baby. Her eyes grew wide with amazement and she looked at me as if she couldn't believe a girly person such as myself rode such a monstrous bike. "Meet my baby, Bella."

"It's awesome!" she congratulated, still gaping at the bike.

"Let's go park our babies, shall we?" I said, laughing, putting my helmet on and drove around the school, following the line of traffic. A thunderous engine sounded behind me and noticed it was Bella, her old Chevy sounding loud enough even for humans to hear.

Given that most of the cars were nothing flashy, just like Bella's, my Ducati soon attracted quite a lot of attention and I could hear many comments, wondering who the owner of such a vehicle was. I laughed to myself, knowing that humans around there, specially boys, would find _me _flashier than my motorcycle.

I parked in a spot next to Bella's truck, who was still inside, reading her school map over and over, as if she was afraid to take it out during school for everyone to see she was new. I smiled at how much she reminded me of Lizzie; like my friend, she hated being in the spotlight.

Noticing that people were starting to stare at me, wondering who I was, I considered it was time to give them a show. Getting off my baby, I took my helmet off and shook my blond hair, like girls in the movies do, drawing even more attention towards myself. That's when I sensed it. Vampires. Four of them. Any other person would have turned around and ran for her life but, being the over-confident and reckless girl I was, I didn't. I guess I should be scared of being outnumbered, but I trusted my abilities too much to allow myself to fear anyone of my kind. Leaving my helmet on top of the seat of the bike, I adjusted my bag and walked confidently towards Bella's truck. I knocked on the window, startling her, but she relaxed immediately when she saw who I was.

"What are you so scared of?" I asked as she came down of her battered Chevy, trying her best to pass unnoticed.

"I don't like people staring at me," she confessed, sighing as she realised most people in the parking lot already were doing so.

"Better get used to it," I laughed. "We moved to a small town, Bella. Here, every new face draws the attention of others."

"I know, but it doesn't mean I have to like it," she complained as we walked to the sidewalk, crowded with staring teenagers.

"It'll pass soon," I teased as she hid her face inside the hood of her black jacket.

"Yeah, I guess so," she said, still unconvinced, but then she smiled evilly and looked at me and the lustful glances I was receiving from boys and the envious and jealous glares most girls were giving me. "Anyway, I think you'll draw more attention than me."

"Aren't you the funny one," I said sarcastically as we got around the cafeteria and instantly spotted building three from there. I could hear Bella's breathing becoming quick and shallow, close to hyperventilation. "Relax Bella, please."

She nodded and we got inside the class, following two girls with hideous unisex raincoats, who hung up their coats - if they deserved such a name - on a long row of hooks. Bella copied them, but I didn't, refusing to leave my precious leather jacket among those horrible things.

I followed Bella up to Mr. Mason's desk. He gawked at her when he saw her name. Maybe she was famous or something and I had no idea. However, his reaction at seeing me was quite comical, but disgusting none the less. He gaped openly and ran his eyes through my whole body. I coughed silently and had to stop myself from chuckling at his embarrassed expression. Luckily, he regained his speech and sent Bella and I to an empty bench at the end of the classroom.

I guess none of the students there were taught that staring at someone was impolite, but I couldn't blame them. The first time I had seen a vampire, who, if I might add, was nowhere near as perfect as I was, I couldn't keep my eyes off him. The students' glances were divided between me and Bella. She was completely flushed and I thanked God for all my years as a 'vegetarian' vampire as her smell was really delicious. She kept her eyes down on the reading list Mr. Mason had handed out. A simple glance at the names made me realise I had already read all of them, which came as no surprise, given that I had had more than a hundred years to read every book I wanted.

When the bell rang, a nasal buzzing sound, a gangly boy with skin problems and hair black as an oil slick leaned across the aisle to talk to Bella. I was probably too intimidating for him to speak to me.

"You're Isabella Swan, aren't you?" He looked like the overly helpful, chess club type, a.k.a. loser!

"Bella," she corrected. Everyone within a three-seat radius turned to look at her.

"And you are?" he asked, confirming my suspicions that Bella had been expected before she came to school.

"I'm Nicole," I introduced myself, smiling politely at him, which was probably a mistake, seeing that he looked quite dazzled. Again, I could see everyone near turning to look at us.

"What do you two have next?" he asked.

Bella had to check in her bag, but with my vampire memory I already knew my complete schedule.

"Trigonometry with Varner," I told him, ignoring his gaze, that was a bit too low for my comfort.

"Um, Government, with Jefferson, in building six," Bella informed.

"I'm headed toward building four, I could show both of you the way… I'm Eric," he added.

"No, thanks, I already saw building one when I arrived," I quickly invented.

Bella smiled tentatively. "Thanks. See you in lunch Nikki?" she asked as we headed out and we went our different ways.

"Sure," I smiled, making my way around the crowd of staring teenagers and quickly arriving at the Trigonometry classroom. That's when I realised one of the vampires I had smelt earlier than morning shared the class with me. _This should be good, _I thought mischievously. I was sure they had smelt me too, because, even if they disguised my golden eyes and pale skin, my powers couldn't alter my smell.

Without looking at the students, I made my way to the teacher's desk. Mr. Varner stared at me with the same lustful look I had received all day from the rest of the men at school.

"My name is Nicole Whitlock, I'm new," I told him so that he would snap back to reality. What I didn't expect to hear was a small gasp, too soft to be heard by humans. I turned to look who had made that noise and found my blue eyes making contact with a set of golden eyes. They belonged to a muscled, bulky vampire with black hair. In all my years, I had never seen a vampire so big; he was easily taller than Kevin, but I shoved that thought aside when I realised he was staring at me like everyone else, his eyes holding too many emotions for me to understand what he was feeling.

"Yes, of course," Mr. Varner stuttered, not noticing the exchange that happened in less than two seconds. "You will be seated next to Mr. Cullen but, could you introduce yourself to the class, please?"

I realised he was motioning for the only empty seat, next to the huge vampire, who I assumed was Mr. Cullen. I turned around and faced the expectant students, who probably knew what Mr. Varner had asked me to do.

"Hello, my name is Nicole Whitlock, I'm sixteen and a junior," I said, my voice as pleasant as always. I then proceeded to walk to my seat next to the vampire in my class, ignoring the stares I was receiving. The vampire growled warningly under his breath as I sat in my chair, making me laugh silently. He looked at me with an unbelieving expression. He probably thought I would be scared of him… as if! To be honest, he would have been quite threatening if I couldn't have turned him to dust with a wave of my hand.

The following period I had Biology with a Mr. Banner. Another one of the vampires shared this period with me, and I was made to sit with her. The short girl was pixie-like, thin in the extreme, with small features. Her hair was a deep black, cropped short and pointing in every direction. An excited smile lightened her delicate features and she was practically jumping on her seat as I got near her.

"Hi, I'm Alice Cullen," she introduced, speaking fast, making it impossible for a human to understand what we were saying. "I'm sorry about the way my brother Emmet behaved towards you, he's just a little territorial."

"Don't worry about it," I said dismissively, instantly liking her chirpy personality. "I'm Nicole Whitlock, but call me Nikki."

"I know," she said nonchalantly, though I could see a glimmer of curiosity in her eyes. "So you can change form?"

"Not quite," I laughed. "It's complicated, but basically, I can control matter."

"That's so cool!" she said, her eyes wide with surprise.

"Can you do something extra?" I asked.

"I can see the future," she said modestly, though I could tell she loved her power.

"That's totally amazing!" I said excitedly, never having seen someone that could do something like that.

"It is," she acknowledged. "You're a vegetarian too, then?"

"Yup, never tasted human blood in my life," I replied proudly.

"As much as the school encourages its pupils to welcome the new students, I think it would be better if you two waited until my period is over to talk," Mr. Banner scolded. "Understood Miss Cullen, Miss Whitlock?"

"Yes, sir," Alice answered, lowering her eyes in what was a believable embarrassed expression. Too bad she couldn't blush to complete the picture.

"What kind of psychic are you?" I teased as soon as Mr. Banner turned around to continue his lesson. "You should have seen that one coming."

Alice simply giggled. "I did, but I love it when they try to scold us. It's funny."

I lifted my eyebrows, but couldn't help but laugh at her stupid explanation. "Whatever," I said before the bell rang.

"I would invite you to have lunch with me and my family if I hadn't seen that you already have plans to sit with someone else," she said apologetically.

"Yeah, maybe some other day," I shuddered as we left the classroom towards the cafeteria.

"I'm counting on it," Alice said as she hugged me briefly before she ran off to find her family and I left for my Government class.

After it finished and it was time for lunch, I started looking for Bella. It wasn't too hard.

She was walking inside next to a girl a little bit shorter than her with bushy dark hair. I could see Bella was simply listening to the girl's continuous ramble, without participating much in the one-sided conversation.

"Hey, Bella!" I called softly, making a lot of heads turn in my direction, including hers and her new friend. I approached them quickly, ignoring the girl's stunned stare. "Hi, I'm Nicole," I introduced myself to the other girl.

"I'm Jessica," she said, smiling falsely. "Would you two like to sit with me and my friends for lunch?"

"Sure," Bella replied politely, but I wasn't paying attention to her.

They were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where I was standing as possible in the long room. There were four, just like I thought. They weren't talking, and they weren't eating, though they each had a tray of untouched food in front of them. But it was none of these things that caught, and held, my attention.

I recognised Alice and Emmet for my other classes. One of the other two boys was lanky, yet lean, with untidy, bronze-coloured hair. But it was the fourth member of the group I couldn't stop looking at. He was tall, maybe about Kevin's height, lean, but still muscular, and with honey blond hair, the exact shade mine had. His eyes, though golden like those of the rest, held a strange familiarity in them, as if I had already seen them before. But, he couldn't possibly be _him_. _He_ was dead.

The four of them were staring at me, though their gazes weren't the lustful, envious looks I had received the whole day. The one called Emmet and the bronze-haired vampire were looking at me in curiosity and disbelief, their eyes sometimes darted to the other male in the family. Alice had a knowing look in her eyes, though she looked even more excited and bouncy than when we had first met, also glancing continuously at the blond vampire besides her. But the other one… His eyes showed a deep emotional turmoil. They held disbelief, recognition, confusion, love and loss, all at the same time, his gaze never leaving my face.

"Are you alright?" Bella asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"I'm fine," I answered quietly, noticing _his _eyes growing wide when he heard my voice. I turned to my concerned friend, noticing, with the corner of my eyes how the four vampires stood, slowly making their way to where I was standing. "I have to use the bathroom, I'll be back in a sec."

I got out of the cafeteria at a human pace, trying as hard as I could to avoid attracting any unwanted attention towards myself. Ha! As if! At least half of the male population was staring at me before I made my grand exit and, at my sudden change of mood, even more people turned to look at me, the new girl at school. I hastily made my way towards my bike, hoping that they wouldn't try and follow me. Fat chance! A few yards away from my car, I heard them behind me, walking at human speed.

"Hold on!" he begged, his voice different than I remembered from my human memories, but still holding something familiar in it. I made my mind in less than a second, and turned to look at my brother's tormented face.

"Hello, Jasper."

**A/N: Dun, dun, dun... The most expected reunion! Please read and review and I'll be happy to post next chapter and let you know how it goes from here! xoxo**


	9. I'm With You

Chapter 8: I'm With You

_Won't you take me by the hand_

_Take me somewhere new_

_I don't know who you are but I_

_I'm with you_

Avril Lavigne

_Present day_

"Nicole?" he asked as she stepped forward, so that he was at arm length.

"Yes," I said, my voice so small it wouldn't have been heard if the four people in front of me weren't vampires. Slowly, as if he feared I would disappear if he made the wrong move, Jasper lifted his hand to my face, slowly running his fingertips across the soft skin of my cheek.

"You're really here," he whispered, his face looking so radiant and glowing I had a hard time to stop myself from breaking down there and then. I could see his whole face and neck were disfigured my dozens of bite marks, but I didn't pay attention to it at the moment. It was too blissful a moment to throw away like that.

"I am," I said, as I held the hand that was cupping my face. "And so are you."

It wasn't a question. I knew my eyes weren't deceiving me, nor my mind playing tricks on me. _He _was real; Jasper was real.

"You're a vampire too?" he asked, looking at my golden coloured skin and blue eyes without understanding. Making sure no one apart from the Cullens could see, I allowed my skin to fade to its snow-white colour and my eyes to become the golden orbs that belonged only to us, 'vegetarian' vampires. "How -?"

"It's a long story," I interrupted, putting up my disguise as I noticed students flowing out of the cafeteria. "Now is not the time or place to talk about it."

Jasper looked as if he was ready to protest, but Alice talked before he could. "You should come to our house after school."

"Sure," I smiled at the pixie-like vampire, before I hugged my brother, never wanting to let go, making him chuckle.

"We have classes to attend to, sweetie," he said, kissing the top of my head and placing an arm around my shoulder, leading me back to the school buildings, the other three trailing after us. "What do you have next?"

"Umm… Spanish with Goff," I said, remembering my schedule.

"I have that too. We could walk there together if you like," the one called Emmet offered, in a shy voice I thought didn't suit his personality. I nodded, flashing a dazzling smile at him. I heard my brother growling silently at Emmet and the copper-haired one chuckle before I realised I didn't know his name.

"Edward," he said all of a sudden. What was he talking about? "My name. I'm Edward."

"Uh, how -?"

"He can read minds," my brother filled me in.

"Oh," I frowned, not liking that he could know everything that crossed my mind.

"Most people hate it," he conceded, answering to my thoughts, before adding, with a mischievous look: "Emmet could tell you why."

"Shut it, Eddie," Emmet snapped, looking annoyed and embarrassed about something I totally missed. "Coming, shortie?"

"Fuck you," I scowled playfully but followed him to our next class.

"So… you're Jasper's sister, huh?" he asked conversationally.

"No shit, Sherlock!" I exclaimed sarcastically. "Are you sure you weren't some sort of detective on your previous life?"

He simply laughed and opened the door for me to get inside the Spanish classroom. Like I had done the entire day, I went towards the teacher who, luckily, was a woman and didn't stare the same way the school males had done all day. She smiled warmly at me and told me to seat next to Emmet.

"How come every seat next to a Cullen is always empty?" I asked as I took my place and Señora Goff, as she called herself, began her lesson.

"Humans are intimidated by us," he shuddered.

"I can't see why," I teased, imagining he liked the fact that his muscled body could scare away as many vampires as humans.

"Shouldn't you be paying attention to the lesson?" he growled in mock annoyance, though I could see a smile filtering slowly into his face.

"I probably speak Spanish better than her, so what's the use?"

"Señorita Whitlock, ¿podrían usted y el señor Cullen prestar atención a mi clase, por favor?_ (Miss Whitlock, could you and Mr. Cullen pay attention to my lesson, please?)_" Mrs. Goff asked with a truly horrible accent.

"Lo siento, profesora. Emmet sólo me estaba poniendo al tanto sobre lo que habían estudiado en clases pasadas, _(I'm sorry, professor, Emmet was just telling me about what you had studied in previous classes)_" I replied, my voice uttering each word as if I was a native.

"Of course," she whispered, returning to English, probably ashamed of how weak her Spanish was in comparison to mine. Next to me, Emmet laughed quietly.

"No need to embarrass her in front of the whole class," he joked.

"At least she'll leave me alone now," I shrugged nonchalantly, flipping my hair out of my face with my small hand.

After Spanish, I had gym with Bella. I got there first and found her walking inside with a blond, baby-faced boy who was chattering the whole way. I decided to approach them, but then I froze mid-way, as did Bella when the boy asked a particular question.

"So, did you stab Edward Cullen with a pencil or what? I've never seen him act like that."

I cringed, as did Bella. I was sure that _wasn't _Edward Cullen's usual behaviour. What could have happened to him to act strangely? As much as the Cullens weren't too fond of bonding with humans, I doubted they would be rude just because.

"Was that the boy I sat next to in Biology?" Bella asked artlessly.

"Yes," the boy said. "He looked like he was in pain or something."

Thirsty. He had been thirsty. Bella smelt too good, and if Edward found her scent particularly delicious, it would just make things worse.

"I don't know," she responded. "I never spoke to him."

"He's a weird guy." The boy lingered by Bella instead of heading to the dressing room, so I thought it wise to intervene, knowing Bella hated receiving extra attention. "If I were lucky enough to sit by you, I would have talked to you."

"Hey, Bella!" I called, appearing behind the blond boy, who turned on his heel, ready to introduce himself, but instead froze, stuttering over his words.

"Hi, Nikki," she sighed in what I recognised as relief. "This is Mike, he's in my Biology class."

"Pleasure to meet you," he finally managed to say. Come on! He just needed to start drooling and he would look like a _total_ idiot. "Mike Newton."

"Nicole Whitlock," I said and, without a second glance in his direction, I dragged Bella to the dressing room for girls. Coach Clapp, found us uniforms but didn't make us dress down for that day's class.

"So, how did your day go?" I asked as the two of us sat on the bleachers, Bella watching with terror as four simultaneous games of volley took place.

"Not as bad as I thought it would be," she answered dismissively.

"But…" I trailed off, wanting to know what exactly Edward had done.

"There was this guy in my Biology class, Edward Cullen," she began. "I don't know what was wrong with him, but out of the blue he started glaring at me with his cold, black eyes as if I had done something to him."

Yup, he was definitely thirsting for her blood. "Maybe he felt unwell or something," I suggested weakly.

"Maybe," she agreed, though hesitantly. She was easy to convince.

The final bell rang at last. Bella and I walked slowly to the office to return our paperwork. The rain that had begun during lunchtime had drifted away, but the wind was strong, and colder. I saw Bella wrap her arms around herself in an attempt to keep warm.

When we walked into the warm office, I had to hold Bella to stop her from turning around and walking back out.

Edward Cullen stood at the desk in front of us. I recognized again that tousled bronze hair. He didn't appear to notice the sound of our entrance, though I knew it was impossible for him not to have done so. Bella stood pressed against the back wall, waiting for the receptionist to be free, while I got ready to use my power over the wind in case Bella's scent reached Edward.

He was arguing with the red head that had given me my schedule in the morning in a low, attractive voice. Probably trying to persuade her to do something for him. I quickly picked up the gist of the argument, hoping Bella hadn't. He was trying to trade from sixth-hour Biology to another time — any other time. Apparently, Bella realised what everything was about, because she frowned in an annoyed and disbelieving expression.

The door opened again, and the cold wind suddenly gusted through the room, rustling the

papers on the desk, swirling Bella's hair around her face and spreading her scent like freesia around the room. The girl who came in merely stepped to the desk, placed a note in the wire basket, and walked out again. But Edward's back stiffened, and he turned slowly to glare at the girl besides me with piercing, hate-filled eyes. The look only lasted a second, as I used my power to make the wind carry Bella's smell away from Edward. He turned back to the receptionist, but not before giving me a curt nod.

"Never mind, then," he said hastily. "I can see that it's impossible. Thank you so much for your help." And he turned on his heel without another look at us, and disappeared out the door.

Bella and I went to the desk and handed the receptionist our signed slips.

"How did your first day go, dears?" the receptionist asked maternally.

"Fine," Bella lied, her voice weak. I nodded in agreement and followed Bella out of the office.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then," I said hurriedly, hearing my brother calling my name from the opposite end of the lot. I waved at her and jumped into my baby, placing the helmet on my head and driving towards the Cullens' shiny, silver Volvo.

"You have a bike?" Emmet asked in amazement as I reached the four of them. "That's so cool!"

"Can you talk later?" Edward asked, his expression full of pain and desire as he kept looking in Bella's direction, who was getting into her old truck.

"Yes, sure. Follow us, Nikki," Jasper agreed as the four of them got into the car with me following.

I drove distractedly, barely paying attention to the road and, instead, thinking about Jasper and how lucky I was he was alive and I had finally found him. After a short time, Edward pulled the Volvo on one side of the street, on a dirt road that led the way into the forest, much like the one near my house. Surprisingly, Jasper, Alice and Emmet got out of the car, before Edward continued his way.

"Where's he going?" I asked as I reached their side.

"He's going to the hospital to talk to Carlisle," Jasper informed.

"He'll be back soon," Alice said, completely sure of her words.

"Well, considering that you can see the future, I'd never bet against you," I said.

"Well, let's go to the house," Jasper suggested, about to break into a run.

"Hey, Emmet, want a ride?" I asked, knowing he had been eyeing my baby with the corner of his eye.

"Hell, yeah!" he booming voice echoed around the forest, before jumping behind me on the bike.

"Then hold on," I smiled before releasing the clutch and speeding down the road, quickly leaving Alice and Jasper behind, despite their vampire speed.

"Oh, shit!" I could hear Emmet mumble as he held on tightly to my waist, with a strong grip that could have broken a tree trunk in half. I laughed as I accelerated even more.

I came to a stop when a beautiful mansion came into view. The house was timeless, graceful, and probably a hundred years old. It was painted a soft, faded white, three stories tall, rectangular and well proportioned. The windows and doors were either part of the original structure or a perfect restoration. I could hear the river close by, hidden in the obscurity of the forest.

"Wow," I sighed softly as I got off the bike after Emmet. "You live here?"

"Yeah, we do," my brother's voice came from behind me as he and Alice reached the place Emmet and I were standing at. He gave the bulky vampire an annoyed look which I chose to ignore, given that I didn't know the reason for it.

"It's beautiful," I said awestruck as I noticed another vampire presence.

"Thank you, dear," a caramel-haired vampire with a motherly aspect said from the doorstep. "Please, come in."

I could see she directed a questioning look at the others behind me, but I paid no heed, deciding to give them privacy and followed the small, slender woman inside. It was very bright, very open, and very large. It must have originally been several rooms, but the walls had been removed from most of the first floor to create one wide space. The back, south-facing wall had been entirely replaced with glass, and, beyond the shade of the cedars, the lawn stretched bare to the wide river. A massive curving staircase dominated the west side of the room. The walls, the high-beamed ceiling, the wooden floors, and the thick carpets were all varying shades of white.

"Nikki, this is Esme, my mum for all intent and purposes," Jasper introduced. "Esme, this is Nicole, my sister."

I could see the shock go through her face as she looked at me and the obvious resemblance between my brother and I. But her surprise was nothing compared to mine when she suddenly hugged me. Hesitantly, I hugged her back.

"Oh, dear, I'm so glad we found you," Esme whispered as she let go of me to examine my face carefully. "You look so young. How old were you when you were changed?"

"Sixteen," I said, noticing how Jasper's fists clenched in fury.

"What happened to you?" he asked, trying to control his voice. I don't know how it happened, but a sudden feeling of anger mixed with guilt overwhelmed me.

"Jazz, calm down," Alice urged him, placing her small hand in his shoulder, making those strange emotions disappear. "Carlisle will be here shortly. I think you should tell her your story first so that he can hear hers when he gets home."

"Alright," he agreed, gazing at Alice with eyes that reminded me of Caleb's when he looked at Lizzie.

"She's your mate, right?" I asked with a mock severe voice, making Jasper worried. I noticed Alice smiling behind him, obviously knowing what I was planning.

"Yes," he admitted, before gulping audibly. I frowned for a second but, unable to keep my face straight any longer, jumped at him, hugging him tightly.

"I love her," I reassured him as I let go and hugged my not-so-new sister in law.

"We're going to be great sisters," she predicted, making me laugh.

"I don't need to be a psychic to know that," I teased.

Jasper sighed in relief as his family laughed at his expression. He hugged Alice and I at the same time, kissing me on the forehead like he did when I was little.

"Thank you," he whispered happily.

"No biggie," I replied honestly as he let me go and made me sit in between Alice and him on a couch, Esme and Emmet taking seats in front of us.

"What do you know about the vampire wars in the south?" he asked.

"Quite a lot, seeing I participated in them," I said sarcastically."What!"

"Jasper, focus," Alice scolded him gently. He took a deep breath and continued.

"What were you told of my disappearance?"

"Not much," I shuddered nonchalantly. "Only that you were evacuating Galveston when you went missing."

"That night as I galloped back to the city, I came across three beautiful women, two blonds and a black-haired one with Mexican features, who I later found out were called Lucy, Nettie and Maria," he explained, making me gasp at the mention of her name. "What?"

"Maria," I hissed venomously.

"You know her," Jasper asked dumfounded.

"Not too much," I said sarcastically. "But I'll tell you my story later, go on." He looked at me with confusion and suspicion etched in his face, but continued with his story all the same.

"They were the ones who transformed me," he stated the obvious before he proceeded to tell me everything: his years with them, his power, the battles he fought, Maria's greed and power hunger, Lucy's and Nettie's betrayal, how he got tired of that lifestyle, Peter's story with Charlotte, his plans to destroy Maria before Peter's return and the way he found Alice.

"They gave us quite a fright," Emmet's booming laughter echoed around the room. "Imagine, Edward and I were hunting when, out of nowhere, Jasper, covered in battle scars appears, hiding this little pixie behind him, who knew all our names and was already asking which room she could stay in."

We all laughed, before being interrupted by the sound of a car's engine, turning in the driveway that led to the house.

"That's Carlisle," Alice explained before I could ask. "Edward left."

"What?"

"Why?"

"Where?"

"He went to Denali to clear his mind a bit," Alice informed.

"Is it because of Bella?" I asked, ignoring the others.

"Yes," she answered. "He doesn't want to hurt her, but I'm sure he won't be able to stay away for too long."

Esme, Emmet and Jasper, though looking troubled for Edward, nodded and waited patiently until a blond man I assumed was Carlisle came into the room. He, like everyone else in the room, had warm topaz eyes, but his, unlike the others, shone with wisdom and goodness beyond my long years.

"Edward told me I should get here soon, but he didn't tell - Oh," he sighed as he saw me, comprehension dawning on his face.

"It's not what you think, Carlisle," Esme said, going to stand besides her husband. "Something incredible had happened."

"Nicole, this is Carlisle, our father," Jasper introduced as he had done with Esme. "Carlisle, this is Nicole Anna Whitlock, my sister."

His reaction was very similar to Esme's but, instead of staring at me like she had done, he looked around the room at his family, searching for confirmation. Everyone, including Jasper, nodded under his gaze, until his golden eyes came in contact with my blue ones.

"How -?"

"She can change her appearance," Jasper informed quickly.

"She can do much more than that," Alice giggled happily, making me laugh at her excitement.

"What does she mean?" Emmet asked, looking puzzled, like everyone else did.

"I can control matter," I told them. Everyone, minus Alice, of course, looked confused.

"That's a very extensive definition," Carlisle spoke directly at me for the first time.

"So is my gift," I sighed. "I guess they are the reason I'm here now. Is everyone up for a story?"

Everyone nodded and sat somewhere in the room, waiting for me to begin.

"First of all, I'd appreciate it very much if you didn't interrupt me," I clarified. "It's going to be hard enough without having to repeat myself so that everyone understands."

"It's the least we can do," Carlisle agreed, giving a significant look to his children.

"Good. I guess it all started when we received the news of Jasper's disappearance," I began, closing my eyes and going through the fuzzy human memories in my mind. "It was hard to move on but, eventually, I got back some sort of 'normality' in my life. By sixteen, my life was all a girl could have asked for; I had great, supportive parents, men begging for my hand every day and three best friends I would have given my life for: Lizzie, Katherine and Helen."

"The girl that used to follow me around when she came home?" Jasper asked and I smiled at the memories, despite the interruption.

"Yeah, Helen had a big crush on you and was completely disappointed when you left," I remembered. "Lizzie was getting married to a man she loved, William, and, the day of her birthday, she told me I would be Maid of Honour at the ceremony. I was completely excited, of course, and, when Katherine and Helen, who were twins, arrived at Lizzie's house and she told them they would both be her bridesmaids, they almost went nuts. Anyway, the twins and I had planned a surprise birthday party at night on a beautiful dance room on the outskirts of the city for Lizzie so, after we finished having tea at her house, the four of us got into the carriage and left." I sighed, remembering that eventful night. "It was stupid of us, but, when the carriage broke down somewhere near the place the party was being held, we agreed to walk there, so as not to be late. I remember Lizzie was scared, so I promised I would protect her. I failed.

"A few minutes after we left the carriage, we were surprised by some voices behind us and, when I turned around, I came face to face with the two handsomest men I'd ever seen. They were called Kevin and Caleb and were soon joined by another man and a woman, whose names were Patrick and Sarah. It's all really blurred now, but I remember the one named Caleb took Lizzie and ran into the forest with her. Then, before I could do something about it, Patrick bit Katherine and started drinking from her. I tried to do something, but Kevin grabbed me before I could move and, as much as I tried to free myself, I wasn't able to help my friend. After that, Sarah broke Helen's neck right in front of me too and started drinking her blood. I was then carried by Kevin to a small cottage deep into the forest and bit. The next thing I remember was the searing pain that went through my body as I transformed.

"When I woke up Kevin and Lizzie, who had woken up before I did, explained everything to me. I didn't believe them at first, but, as I looked at my reflection and saw what I had become I couldn't deny the truth any longer. Kevin, who knew of my gift because Caleb was able to sense other vampire's powers, told me about it, the reason he wanted to change me on the first place. I was his personal killing machine," I laughed bitterly. "Without moving a finger, I could pulverize a vampire as if it was nothing. I guess that's why he didn't care when I refused to drink from humans and, instead, chose a vegetarian diet."

"You drank animal blood since you were transformed?" Carlisle asked, his surprise mirroring everyone else's."Yes," I replied. "I don't know if it was because I witnessed Katherine's and Helen's deaths and I knew what it felt like to lose someone like that, or if it was part of me being a strange vampire, but I never felt the newborn urge to drink from humans. Anyway, I was also taught how to fight because, even though my power allowed me to kill a vampire without having to come in contact with it, it wasn't so developed on my first days. Years passed and everything any of us did was fighting or training for another fight. Kevin wasn't one to search to expand his hunting territory, but we were being constantly attacked by others who did. We never lost. I was endlessly courted by many of the other newborns of our army, but I never found a mate in any of them. Instead, Kevin took a rather sick interest on me."

"What the fuck?" Jasper hissed furiously and, out of the blue, I began feeling mad with rage. "I'll fucking kill him! Where is that son of a bitch that dared touch my sister?"

I chuckled bitterly, noticing how my fury diminished as Alice placed a soothing hand on Jasper's forearm. "Trust me, he'd be dead if I knew where he was, but you should let me go on. Lizzie, on the other hand, soon fell for Caleb and they became practically inseparable.

"I was tired of that way of life, but I wouldn't leave Lizzie behind and run, so I remained there, fighting and killing, my humanity slowly dying with every of my victims. Fifty years after my transformation, an enormous newborn army led by a black-haired bitch came our way. Kevin wanting to get rid of Caleb and Lizzie so that I would agree to become his mate, told him he would be able to take her on-"

"But, weren't you his mate already?" Emmet asked as the others looked confused.

"It's… complicated," I sighed. "To make a long story short, Kevin had the power to manipulate people so that they did what he wanted."

"He did that to you?" Esme gasped, covering her mouth with her pale, delicate hand. She was too much of a mother to be able to listen to the story and remain emotionally detached. And the rest of the Cullens looked affected by it as well: Carlisle looked shocked, Alice had a condescending expression, Jasper was fuming but, what surprised me the most was Emmet's fury that could practically match Jasper's.

"Yes, but the point is Caleb got killed by her and, as Kevin had planned, so did Lizzie when she tried to get revenge. Pissed off and grief struck, I decided to deal with her on my own, without powers. She was a great opponent, but I was better and had a reason to fight. Soon, her body was burning on a fire I lit to keep her filthy ashes from coming near my friend's.

"With Lizzie gone, my mind was set on leaving the south immediately, but Kevin had other plans. He yelled at me and even dared to slap me when I told him I was leaving, but I quickly realised Lizzie's and Caleb's deaths were his fault, causing his powers to temporarily loose the effect they had on me. I wanted him killed as well, but he escaped before I could, so I went to say goodbye to Patrick and Sarah, who I had learnt to forgive over the years. They asked me about the lifestyle I was planning to have and I told them they'd need to overcome their thirst for human blood before they could do something similar. They did and, after a couple of decades, they joined me, occasionally going off on their own to have their… privacy."

"Are they living with you now?" Carlisle asked, looking pensive.

"Yeah, they got jobs at Seattle," I informed.

"Hold on a second," Jasper interrupted. "You said you knew who Maria was."

"And I do," I whispered. "She was the vampire who killed Lizzie and Caleb. She was the one I killed."

"Impossible," my brother gasped. "Maria was an incredible fighter."

"And who said I'm not?" I countered coolly.

"Great!" Emmet boomed. "Someone else to wrestle with!"

"Don't even think about it," Alice chimed before Jasper could say something. "Or Jazz would want you dead even more."

"Even more than what?" Jasper asked confusedly.

"You'll see," Alice answered in her pixie-like voice, but flashing me a quick smile that went unnoticed by everyone but myself.

"Alright…" I trailed off, not knowing what Alice was talking about but, luckily, being saved of replying to her mysterious comment by the sound of my ringing phone.

"Yup?" I answered, placing the state of the arts device in my ear, though it wasn't necessary to do so.

"Nikki?" Sarah's concerned voice answered. "Where are you? Why aren't you back from school yet?"

"I'm fine Sarah, chill," I said soothingly not bothering to explain the others what was going on, as they were perfectly able to hear the ongoing conversation. "Something came up. I can't explain right now but I promise I'll do when I get back home, okay?"

I heard Sarah's sigh from the other end of the line. "If I didn't know already you can take care of yourself perfectly I'd track you down and bring your reckless ass back home, but I trust you."

"Don't worry, I'm on my way," I said before hanging up and looking around the room to meet the eyes of five beautiful vampires.

"I don't want you to leave," Jasper mock-pouted.

"You are welcome to stay here as long as you like, dear," Esme offered, flashing me one of her motherly smiles.

"Thanks Esme, but I don't doubt for a second that Sarah's threat is idly done," I smiled. "You guys could come over of you like. I bet Sarah and Patrick will be glad to meet you."

"Could I see your wardrobe?" Alice asked excitedly, making me laugh as the rest of her family cringed in anticipation.

"Sure, pixie," I grinned. "We could also go shopping some other day if you like."

"Yeah!" the little vampire exclaimed. "We could take a whole weekend off and go to Seattle… or maybe even New York!"

"You have no idea what you've signed up for," Emmet teased.

"I'm alright with it," I shuddered nonchalantly. "So, are you guys coming?"

Esme and Carlisle exchanged questioning glances, but Jasper answered before anyone else could.

"We'd love to," he smiled dazzlingly, causing me to smile back happily. I didn't know what would come out of that whole thing, but I the thought of having my big brother back was too blissful to allow me to think about anything else.

**A/N: Hey guys! Really long chapter to make up for all the time I made you wait! A special thanks for my four reviewers from last chapter and for Kelsey-Short for being the first person I've come to consider my friend in fanfiction! Hope you like! xoxo**


	10. Fairy Tales And Reality

Chapter 9: Fairy Tales And Reality

_Her prince finally came to save her_

_And the rest you can figure out_

_But it was a trick and the clock struck 12_

_Well make sure to build you home brick by boring brick_

_Or the wolf's gonna blow it down_

Brick By Boring Brick, Paramore.

_**Present day**_

"Sarah, Patrick, I'm home," I called in a normal voice, knowing they would hear me all the same, as I dismounted my bike, Emmet getting off behind me and Alice, Jasper, Esme and Carlisle getting out of the shiny black Mercedes they owned.

"Nicole!" Sarah yelled as she and Patrick leapt out of nowhere, taking a defensive stance in front of me and growling at the Cullens. "Who are you?"

"Sarah, Patrick, please relax," I said as I felt a wave of serenity being wrapped around the group, probably Jasper's doing. "I want you to meet some people, okay?"

"Nicole what are you playing at?" Patrick asked nervously, slowly abandoning his position in front of me, but the wariness not leaving his dark eyes. "Do you want to give us a heart attack?"

"Your heart doesn't beat, silly," I sang, pinching his cheek and cheerfully dancing out of his reach so he wouldn't do something about it. "I'd like to introduce you to the Cullens: Carlisle and Esme, Emmet, Alice and Jasper."

"Pleased to meet you," Sarah said politely, though with caution, looking at each of the vampires I pointed in turn.

"Same here, you truly have a beautiful house," Esme complimented, admiring the magnificent building that looked more as a palace than a house.

"My Sarah designed it herself," Patrick informed, placing a possessive arm around his mate, clearly marking his territory.

"Enough of that," I rebuked. "There's something else you have to know."

"What now?" Sarah sighed tiredly, probably thinking I got in trouble at school again. What can I say? Those high school bitchy girls and persistent boys were too annoying for me to stop myself from punching them once in a while. They were lucky enough that I never used my vampire strength on them.

"Jasper's a vampire," I squealed excitedly, making the Cullens laugh, but Patrick and Sarah look puzzled.

"Really? I didn't notice," Patrick said sarcastically.

"Oh, shush," I silenced him. "What I mean is that my brother, _Jasper_, is a vampire. And he's here!"

Sarah and Patrick looked in between Jasper and I in confusion, but comprehension slowly dawning in their faces as they took note of the similarities between the two of us. After they finished their examination, they turned to the rest of the Cullens for confirmation. At their nods, Sarah hurried to my side, knocking my air out of my lungs with a tight hug.

"Oh, sweetie, I'm so happy for you!" she squealed, much like I had done before. "This truly is a miracle!"

"It is," Carlisle said, stepping forwards with Esme under his arm.

"Oh, please, do come in," Sarah ushered when she noticed the presence of the five other vampires. Without letting me out of her grasp, she led the group inside the house and into the magnificently decorated living room.

"This is so cool!" Emmet gasped from behind me. I turned around and noticed he was staring at Patrick's brand new game station.

"You can use it whenever you like, kid," Patrick chuckled, sitting on the loveseat next to Sarah, as Esme and Carlisle, and Alice and Jasper sat together, leaving Emmet and I to sit next to each other.

"I'm no kid," Emmet huffed, making Alice and I giggle.

"Sure, Emmy," I teased.

"Don't!" Jasper exclaimed, lunging forward to cover my body with his. I looked at him strangely, and so did the rest, until Emmet's booming laughs cut through the silence.

"What's the matter, Jazzy?" he asked, slightly amused.

"You aren't… attacking her?" Jasper stuttered, looking confused. I merely laughed, not only because I found the thought of Emmet _trying _to attack me quite amusing, but also because I never knew vampires could actually stutter like that.

"Why would I do that?" Emmet frowned, looking as puzzled as Jasper did.

"She called you _Emmy_," Jasper said, cringing while the rest of his family gaped in realisation.

"So?" I asked, looking back at Emmet, who, after Jasper's announcement, was staring at me in wonder and curiosity.

"He _never_ allows anyone to call him Emmy," Alice informed, smirking at Emmet and I as if she knew what was upsetting him.

"He's scared of me that's all," I teased again, making all the others vampires in the room roll their eyes.

"Keep telling yourself that, maybe one day you'll believe it," Emmet grunted, but ended up smiling at me.

"Sorry to interrupt," Alice popped in excitedly, "but you promised you'd show me your wardrobe and I can't wait for it!"

"Sure," I smiled, breaking my gaze from Emmet's beautiful golden orbs. "Let's go pixie."

She linked her arm with mine and kind of dragged me up the stairs and into the room she knew belonged to me.

"Excited much, are we?" I chuckled as Alice started bouncing up and down the room, waiting for me to open the wardrobe so she could have a look.

"Of course I am!" she giggled. "I can't wait for us to go shopping or something! We could even use Jasper and Emmet as bag-carriers!"

"That'd be nice, pixie, but I don't think I'm need more clothes right now," I said before I opened the mirror doors that led to my walk-in closet.

To say that Alice was speechless would be the understatement of the year. Mouth open and golden eyes wide and sparkling, she got inside the closet, walking at a slow pace that wouldn't leave a turtle behind. She turned her head in every possible direction, taking in every single article of clothing in the room.

"Oh my Gosh!" she chirped excitedly. "I totally love this!"

"I knew you would," I laughed as she ran around like a happy toddler.

"Where did you get these?" she asked, holding some colourful, silky scarves and examining them.

"I bought those when I travelled to Arabia," I shuddered. "Sarah and Patrick were on one of their honeymoons to Africa, so I decided to make a trip of my own."

"They are awesome!" she gasped, still going around the room.

"You can have one if you like," I offered, causing her eyes to go wide open again. "I bought a couple of them, so I've got more."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," she sang as she hugged me and continued raiding my closet.

I watched her smiling as she went through all my clothes, happy that Jasper had found her. Alice was the sweetest person I could ever imagine meeting and I knew her childish personality was a great fit for Jasper's sulky demeanour.

"Oh, this is such a beautiful dress," I heard Alice's gasp, which snapped me out of my thoughts. In her tiny hands was the dress I wore the night of Lizzie's eighteenth birthday; my last night as a human; the night I was transformed. It was certainly a beautiful gown: it was of a sky blue colour with short sleeves that ended up a couple of inches above the elbow. I remembered that, when I wore it, it barely grazed the floor, making it easier for me to walk around comfortably. It had been a gift from my parents; that was the reason I had kept it all those years.

"It is," I smiled gently, though sadly. "It was from the time I was human."

"Oh," Alice sighed, all the excitement and happiness suddenly gone from her delicate features. "I'm sorry I brought that up."

"It's fine," I shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't mind talking about my human memories."

"I wish I had some," Alice whispered sadly.

"You don't remember anything about your human life?" I asked astounded. I knew about vampires that only got flashbacks of their human existence. I didn't even remember everything about it either, but I had never heard of a vampire that couldn't remember anything at all.

"Nope," she said, her energizer bunny personality back. "All I remember is black and then I woke up and was like this."

"Well, at least you were lucky enough to forget your change," I offered, always being the one to look at the bright side of things.

"Yup, I've heard it's pretty painful," she smirked.

"Saying that, Alice, is like saying you just _like_ fashion," I teased. "In other words it would be a _huge_ understatement."

"What was it like for you?" she asked curiously.

"It was excruciating," I admitted, noticing that Alice had finished her analysis of my closet and was paying full attention to my words. "But I think the worse part of it was not knowing."

"Not knowing what?"

"Well, first of all, not knowing how Lizzie was, even if she was alive or not," I began. "Then, not knowing when or if the pain would end. And, finally, not knowing why."

"Why what?" Alice asked puzzled.

"Why those horrible things were happening to me," I shuddered, trying to flash a smile at my sister-in-law, which came as more of a grimace. "I should have known that was only the beginning."

Knowing there was nothing she could say to make things better, Alice simply chose to wrap her small arms around me, pulling me into a friendly and warm embrace. That loving and accepting gesture made everything I had experienced before and during my vampire existence hit me like a ton of bricks on the head. I thought about everyone I had lost: Jasper, Katherine, Helen, my parents, Caleb, Lizzie and myself. Most of them were dead and gone forever, and I had just got Jasper back but, could I ever find myself again? Could I put the pieces back together?

I don't remember when it began, but, at some point, I realised I was sobbing heavily on Alice's shoulder. For the first time in years, I, Nicole Anne Whitlock, was crying and letting out everything that I had held inside me all those years. I didn't notice when it happened but, suddenly, the arms around me were stronger and more muscled. I looked up and saw Jasper looking at me with concern and sadness in his flawless features. Alice was nowhere to be found. She probably realised I would want a moment alone with my brother.

"I'm here, Nikki," he soothed, running a hand through my long hair, so similar to his. "I won't ever leave you again, I promise."

"I love you, Jazz," I said as I buried my face in the crook of his neck.

"I love you too, little sis," he breathed as he kissed the top of my head. "I won't let anything hurt you. I'll protect you from everything. I won't fail you again."

"You never did," I whispered, inhaling his mint-like scent. "You gave me strength, even when you weren't there."

"What do you mean?"

"The first night we found out of your disappearance, I dreamt of you," I told him, remembering the godly creature sitting on my bed. "You told me I shouldn't cry, that I had to be strong."

"You remember that?" he asked, puzzled.

"Yeah, why?"

"Because it wasn't a dream," he sighed. "I knew it was dangerous, but I had to see you again. So I hunted more than I would have normally done and went to see you. Luckily, your scent, though mouth-watering, reminded me too much of home, and I couldn't harm you."

"Oh, Jazzy," I giggled, hugging him once again. "You're the best brother ever!"

"I seriously doubt that," he frowned, still looking guilty.

"Hey," I complained, making him look at me straight in the eye and gave him a small smile. "You couldn't have known what would happen. You're not Alice."

He smiled back at the mention of his mate. "So, what do you think of her?"

"I love her," I replied earnestly. "She's great."

"I'm glad you do," Jasper chuckled. "But, if you value your life, don't ever go shopping with her."

"Why not?" I asked curiously, having already thought of doing it.

"Because she'll make you try on the entire shop," he shuddered. "It's a traumatic experience, even for a vampire, trust me."

I giggled at this and heard Alice's growling from the other floor. "Don't worry, Alice, it takes more than that to scare me off," I reassured her in a normal voice, knowing she'd hear all the same.

"As you wish," Jasper said, raising his hands in defeat. "Don't come to me when you're trying to run from her."

"Whatever," I said dismissively, standing from the spot I had kneeled at on the floor. "Let's go downstairs."

He laughed at my bipolarness and kissed me on the top of my head once again before running out of my sight.

"Hey, no fair!" I whined, following him. Knowing I wouldn't be able to beat him, I closed my eyes and called on my power. I landed on my feet on the living room in between the gasps of everyone there. The Cullens, plus Jasper, who arrived a second later than I did, looked speechless, but Sarah and Patrick, used to my antics, simply rolled their eyes.

"Show off," Patrick mumbled.

"That's my second name, don't wear it off," I joked, pinching his cheek and hurrying to teleport to the other end of the room so that he couldn't do anything about it.

"I hate you," he growled menacingly.

"No you don't," I teased. "You l-o-v-e me."

Sarah and Emmet laughed and the rest of the Cullens looked amused, but Patrick appeared to be pissed off as hell.

"Wanna take it outside?" Patrick offered, knowing Sarah would have both our asses if something happened to her precious furniture.

"I'd just kick your ass again, Patty," I sneered, using the nickname I knew he hated.

"Oh, you've had it," he hissed, dodging Jasper who tried to come to my defence and putting me on top of his shoulder to carry me to the back yard. I struggled against his grip and noticed the other vampires following. Sarah looked exasperated; Alice, Carlisle and Esme looked torn between amusement and concern; Jasper looked as if he was ready to kill someone; and Emmet, being Emmet, looked as excited as a child who is given his first bicycle.

"You really want to humiliate yourself in front of everyone?" I asked as Patrick placed me on the ground once again.

"No powers this time," he warned, taking his stance before me.

"Don't need them," I challenged.

"Are they always like this?" I heard Esme asking Sarah.

"Quite often, yeah," Sarah replied. "I would stop them if I didn't find their constant squabbles amusing."

"Glad to be of service," I commented as I dodged Patrick's first attack effortlessly. He instantly changed course and came for me again. When he was near enough for him to be impossible to change direction, I jumped gracefully into his back and pressed my fangs against his neck, feeling him freeze instinctively underneath me. "You lose."

"Bite me," Patrick snapped as I got off his back and glided softly away from him and towards the rest.

"I don't think Sarah would be happy if I did," I countered back smirking.

"You're an evil little monster, aren't you?" Jasper asked as soon as I stood next to him.

"You just realised that?" I teased, hugging him and smiling when he kissed the top of my head and he hugged me back, as if he never wanted to let go.

"I want to try too," Emmet whined, looking at me pleadingly.

"Su-"

"No fucking way!" Jasper interrupted me, turning his enraged gaze towards the big vampire next to us.

"Why not?" Emmet and I asked at the same time. Everyone except Jasper, Emmet and I laughed, though I'm still not sure if it was because Emmet and I spoke simultaneously or because we sounded like three-year-olds.

"Because that's my sister you're planning to fight and I'd like to be able to spend some time with her before you hurt her," he said to Emmet before turning to me. "And because I want some bonding time with little Nikki now, if that's alright."

"That'd be great," I said truthfully, hugging Jasper once again. "Sorry, Emmy, maybe next time."

"You won't be able to escape next time," Emmet warned in a mock threatening tone.

"You should thank Jasper for saving your ass," I replied in my usual smart ass tone.

"Keep telling yourself that, maybe one day you'll believe it," Emmet said nonchalantly, though I knew he was enjoying our verbal duel as much as I was.

"I already do, Emmy," I teased one last time, looking once more at Emmet's beautiful topaz eyes before being dragged away by an annoyed Jasper into the depths of the forest.

Without letting go of my hand, Jasper led me between unfamiliar trees and through the dense foliage of Forks' forest. I didn't know where we were going, but, for the first time since I became a vampire, I was blissfully oblivious to the world around me. I didn't care about my surroundings, I didn't care about leaving Sarah and Patrick with strange vampires and, for once, I didn't even think about Kevin. I wasn't thinking of his threat to come back for me, his face, his smell, his touch or the fact that, if he appeared in Forks, he could cause harm to many people I loved. The only thing on my mind was my big brother.

It was still difficult to believe he was really alive. After almost 150 years of trying to convince myself that he would never come back for me and that I would never have him standing before me protectively, it was hard to believe he was there, next to me.

"I missed you, Jazzy," I spurted out, speaking my mind as I always did. Next to me, Jasper stopped running and faced me, looking right into my eyes with those beautiful dark orbs if his.

"I missed you too, Nikki," he confessed. I knew it wasn't easy for him to be showing so much emotion all in one day. He was always more of an introvert person and he rarely shared whatever was on his mind with everyone else. "More than you can possibly imagine. That's the reason I couldn't leave without seeing you."

"I'm glad you didn't," I smiled, looking up at him. The top of my head barely reached his chin. I have to admit I'm a very small vampire. Although I'm not as small as Alice is, most men always tower over me. Even Kevin, who had an average height for a man, stood almost a foot above my small frame. Let alone huge vampires like Emmet and Patrick.

"Shouldn't you be scolding me for taking such a risk being only a newborn?" Jasper asked amusedly, leading me at a slow pace between thinning trees and undergrowth to a small, peaceful-looking and beautiful meadow.

Purple, white and yellow flowers swayed in the frozen breeze, dancing with the long grass. Beautiful jade and emerald green trees bordered the circle, creating the shape. Sunlight streamed in through every possible space, illuminating the scene so completely that I was dazzled by the sheer beauty of it.

"I'm your sister, not your mother," I reminded him before I dropped on my back on the soft grass of the meadow, enjoying my surroundings. "Besides, I don't know what I would've done if it wasn't for that little visit of yours."

"What do you mean with that?" he asked, his tone turning into a sterner one, probably thinking on something along the lines of suicide.

"Don't be such a drama queen," I sighed, rolling my eyes and trying to soothe him before he allowed his mind to wander too much. "I was just depressed. Your words made me realise there were others going through the same, and that I had to be strong for mum and dad."

"Well, then I'm glad I did that," Jasper said after a small pause. He then sat on the grass besides me and fixed his intense gaze on my sparkling skin, as if he still couldn't believe I was a vampire and alive after all those years. _Welcome to my world_,I thought sarcastically, smiling to myself.

For some time, we just sat there, looking at each other and trying to convince ourselves that the other one was really there, that it wasn't just our wild imagination playing a trick on us. Well, that's true at least in my case. But I wasn't one to stay silent for too long; as a matter of fact, I was quite the blabbermouth.

"So… you and Alice, huh?" I asked, desperate to start some sort of conversation.

"Yeah, we've been together for over fifty years now," he said, a small smile creeping its way through his face. I knew it wasn't much, but I had never seen Jasper so happy in all my existence. He was positively glowing.

"Jeez, wonder how she managed to put up with you the whole time," I teased, earning a playful whack on my arm. "Hey! No fair, you're stronger than me!"

"That I know," he said, making me stuck my tongue out at him childishly.

"Jackass," I mumbled, knowing that he'd hear me all the same.

"You're not the proper, young lady you once were, huh?" he asked, a slight frown appearing on his forehead.

"Ya think so?"

"Yep, you've definitely changed," he sighed. "And I can't help but think it's partly my fault for leaving you."

"Hey, don't ever think like that again," I scolded him. "You couldn't have done anything about it, even if you knew what I would go through."

"If I had known what would happen to you, I would've gone back and change you myself instead of letting that filthy slime ball get his greasy hands on you," he seethed, his words carrying enough hatred and loathing to scare even me. Mind you, it wasn't an easy thing to do. "I can't believe everything you went through, Nikki."

"Neither can I," I whispered sadly. "I mean, there're still days when I space out and I find myself thinking whether I should wear a blue or red gown to Lizzie's engagement party. It's hard to pull out of those little fantasies, but I have to. I guess I just had to grew up faster than I would have liked to… we all did."

All of a sudden I found myself in the warm embrace of Jasper's arms again for the second time that day. I wasn't crying then, but Jasper must have sensed my feelings of melancholy and longing, and decided to do something before I broke down again, which was quite possible given the thoughts that plagued my mind. But I was right; I had to snap out of the fairy tale I lived in and I had to cope with the fact that there was no Prince Charming coming to save me.

Gosh! I was such a frivol and shallow person! The deepest thought that ever crossed my mind before my transformation had been about whether or not to wear a certain dress to a ball. I guess my supernatural encounter with Kevin and the rest of his coven revolutionised my way of seeing the world. It was no longer flowers and rainbows to me; my life had become my own worse nightmare, even more so after Kevin used his powers on me for his personal benefit. I had to bury all my dreams, desires and, most importantly, the castle I had created in my mind, and get my feet on the ground for the first time in my life.

"Nicole, I promise-" Jasper began, but swallowed audibly before continuing. I had never seen him lost for words in all my life and it scared me; I guess no one is ready to see the person they lean on showing weakness. "I promise I'll get you back. Even if it takes me thousands of years, I promise I'll put you back together so you can be the carefree teenager you would have been if all this hadn't happened."

I shook my head and pulled out of Jasper's protective arms. "No, Jazzy," I said. "There's no turning back; not this time. The Nicole you knew is far too gone to be able to reach out now."

"No, that's not true," Jasper said, clearly going through denial. "I can still get you back."

"Jasper, I'm too broken to be able to heal," I said, smiling condescendingly at him and getting his big hand in between my small ones. "It's too late for me."

**IMPORTANT A/N: Another chapter gone... Anyway, I have been giving a lot of thought to the feedback problem and I've decided what I'm going to do! I've been PMming with the great Kelsey-Short about how much we both don't like our stories being read but not reviewed... I mean, come on, I got over 50 visitors for last chapter and only four reviews! So, if I get at least five reviews for this chapter, I'll update during the weekend! If not, you'll just have to wait 'till next week! Hope you enjoy! xoxo **


	11. The Beginning Of Change

Chapter 10: The Beginning Of Change

_**Present Day**_

"Um… I like the purple one better. It looks nice with your eyes."

"I like it too, Alice, but this is school we're going to, not a night club," I sighed, getting impatient with my sister in law by the minute. We had been choosing an outfit for me to wear to my second day at school for about an hour now. After diving into my closet, Alice had selected 'a few' (according to her) clothing items she thought I should use. It was more as if she had poured the entire contents of my wardrobe on top of my bed for us to choose the best outfit from them. After much discussion, we had selected some dark, extremely tight jeans with knee length, high-heeled black boots. At the moment, though, we were discussing about the shirt and purse I should take to school. Alice was firmly set on a purple, silky top that had a big dip on the back, thus exposing too much skin for it to be able to wear to school. But the little pixie wouldn't see reason and she argued that the white button-up shirt I wanted to wear was far too simple.

"But there's no point in having all these clothes if you won't wear them," Alice pouted, begging for me to cave in and do as she suggested.

"I do wear them, but I don't want to go to school looking like a well-paid whore," I argued back. "Besides, every guy at school would probably die of a heart attack and Jasper would kill you and I both before we could even set foot out of this house."

"But-"

"And it's also uncomfortable to wear while riding a bike," I continued. "You should try to avoid that stupid shirt from blowing off and leaving you naked while you're driving a bike at 150mph."

"I see no problem there," Alice said cheerfully as she turned to pick a matching purple Prada purse from one of the shelves in my closet. "You're not driving that bike today."

"But-" I began before being interrupted much like she had been a few seconds before.

"No buts," she warned, pointing a threatening finger at me. Wow, the pixie had a backbone. In fact, she could be scarier than Emmet when she wanted to. "I didn't spend two hours doing your hair and make up for you to blow it off while driving."

"But I want to drive my baby," I whined. "It's not even raining today!"

"Absolutely not!" Alice said sternly. "You're taking your car and that's it."

"Then I'm wearing the white shirt," I replied cheekily, smirking at Alice's annoyed expression.

"Fine, but you get to drive Emmet to school so I can spend some time with Jasper without his teasing," she negotiated, though I didn't mind that condition at all. I liked Emmet quite a lot, so it didn't bother me to spend some time with him. "Deal?"

"Deal," I confirmed, shaking her outstretched hand.

"What am I? A package or something?" Emmet's half amused, half annoyed voice sounded from the downstairs floor. It was about six in the morning. None of the Cullens had left since the previous day except Alice who, while Jasper and I were out and seeing that they would spend the night at our house, made a quick visit to her place to retrieve some clothes for her and the rest of her family.

"No, you're just a huge pain in the ass," I retorted, giggling along with Alice. I said that in a normal tone, just like a human would do to speak to someone in the same room, but I knew he would hear me, just like the rest of the vampires downstairs. "Stop eavesdropping!"

"I can't help it, you know," he defended himself, talking in a way that made me think he was wearing a big and hot pout on his handsome face. _Okay, where the hell did that come from?_

"Stupid vampire hearing," Alice mumbled under her breath. "Do you realise we'll have to leave the house if we want to have a girl talk?"

"Don't feel like that because of us," Patrick interfered, also from the other floor.

"Yeah, we'd love to hear what you girls talk about," Emmet added in his usual suggestive tone. That was followed by the sound of breaking glass and… "Ouch! What the fuck?"

"What happened?" Esme's voice asked exasperatedly while Alice and I giggled.

"That vase crashed against my head!" Emmet complained as Patrick chuckled knowingly.

"Honey, that's not possible," Esme replied in a rather patronising voice that made Alice and I burst into uncontrollable laughter and fall to the floor in hysterics.

"Oh, she's dead," Emmet hissed, finally catching up to what had happened to him.

I guess we were too distracted to pay attention to our senses, or that Alice actually was waiting for something to happen on purpose because, next thing I knew and without any previous warning, Emmet had stumbled through my bedroom's door, his eyes widening at the sight in front of him. I was standing there, doubled over in laughter, though immediately straightening myself up. But that wasn't the bad part. As a matter of fact, I was dressed only in the chosen jeans and boots, with a white lace bra to cover my boobs, but leaving my whole torso otherwise exposed.

I felt Emmet's eyes roaming my small, toned stomach and firm chest with appreciation and hunger, and there was something about that look that made me feel the urge to blush furiously. I'm sure I would've done so if I hadn't been dead for almost 150 years. Although I had received that kind of looks from countless men (and even some women, so not going in there), that was the first time I felt my insides quirk in a not so unpleasant way.

It was then I realised I had been standing there, just letting Emmet take in every curve of my body without attempting to get dressed properly, for over a minute. Quickly gathering my thoughts, I used my powers to summon my silvery bath robe, which I haphazardly used to cover my upper body from the shocked vampire in front of me.

"Um… eh… I gu-guess I'd be-better le-leave," Emmet stammered out before hurrying out of my room. I heard a giggle next to me and turned to glare at Alice menacingly. What kind of a psychic was she if she couldn't even foresee that was going to happen?

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself," she apologized in between her laughter, clearly seeing what I would have asked next. Even though her statement was meant to appease me, it had the opposite effect.

"What do you mean 'you couldn't help yourself'?" I spat viciously. "You actually wanted that to happen?"

"Yup," she replied simply, jumping out of my reach. "Come on, Nikki, don't be mad…"

"How the fuck am I supposed to be okay with that, pixie?" I said, fuming, placing my hands in my hips and standing threateningly in front of her.

"You'll thank me later, I promise," she answered quizzically before smartly changing topic. "You two are lucky Jasper was out hunting, or he would've felt your emotions and torn Emmet into pieces."

"Not if I did that to you first," I seethed, discarding the bath robe and getting the white, button-up shirt on. I didn't even bother to turn to look at the mirror; I knew what I would see. Nicole Whitlock: blond, fairly tall, curvy and flawless; the girl all the boys wanted and all the girls wished to be. It was really getting old… I made a deal with myself, swearing that the next time I changed school I would disguise myself as a brunette or maybe even a red-head.

"Whatever," Alice shrugged, rolling her eyes at my playful threat, grabbing a black, Mike Jacobs purse and placing all my school stuff inside before handing it to me. "Just hurry up. I'd like to arrive early to school today so I can take a good look at the human girl you're going to seat with at lunch."

"How can you see that already?" I asked, buttoning my white shirt at lightning speed and grabbing the purse she was holding for me. "I didn't even decide yet!"

"Oh, I saw she's planning to ask you to sit with her as soon as you two see each other and you saying yes," she replied simply, as if she was talking about buying a pair of shoes and not seeing the future. Yep, we're a total freak show…

"Okay…"

"But you're sitting with us tomorrow and every other day of the school year," she continued, pouting as if trying hard to convince me. Why would I choose a table filled with gossipy humans instead of the one with my brother, sister-in-law and… Emmet? Don't get me wrong, Bella was absolutely great, but I wasn't too sure her friends would be of my liking.

"Sure, pixie," I said, trying to reassure her. "But I think it's time for us to get going if you want me to introduce you to Bella."

"Let's go, then," she said, bouncing happily.

Grabbing my hand, she dragged me down the stairs and into the living room, where the rest of the family was waiting. Wait a sec! _Family?_ I guess Jasper _was_ in fact my family, but the rest? As much as I loved Sarah and Patrick, I had never considered them my family; only my coven. But, as I looked at the excited face of Alice, the calmed one of Jasper, the loving one of Esme, the wise one of Carlisle and the mischievous one of Emmet, I felt at home. For the first time in more that a century, I, Nicole Whitlock, was home.

However, the moment my gaze swept across Emmet's face, time seemed to stop. I only had eyes for him, and it seemed the same was happening to him. We were both staring at each other in wonder and amazement and I could've stayed like that for eternity, if Alice hadn't elbowed me in the ribs.

"How did hunting go?" I asked my brother, smiling and trying to divert his attention from the awkward moment that took place in little less than a second. I didn't dare look in Emmet's direction again, fearing that he hadn't felt the same tug I did when I looked into the depths of his topaz eyes. Why was I scared of his rejection? That, I couldn't tell, but I was hoping to figure out everything out soon.

"Good enough," Jasper answered nonchalantly, though he was sneaking curious glances at Emmet while he talked to me. "I can't wait for the next sunny day, though. I'm in need of a good hunting trip."

"It will be rainy the whole week," Alice predicted, causing all of us to groan simultaneously. "But we could go during the weekend, if you guys want."

"I'm in," I agreed, happy to go out on a real hunting trip after all the time I spent just drinking from any small animal I could find nearby.

"I'm with you, sis," Jasper added.

"Hmm… Grizzly…" Emmet said dreamily, which was obviously a yes.

"I have shifts at the hospital this weekend," Carlisle excused himself.

"I'll stay with you, honey," Esme said, though we could all see why she would choose to stay at her huge house with her husband while all of their kids were gone…

"I think we could do with some quality time too, don't you think?" Patrick asked Sarah, winking suggestively.

"Okay, I so not need to witness this," I teased them, making gagging sounds and causing Emmet and Alice to snort in amusement while I received the stern looks of Sarah, Patrick, Esme, Carlisle and Jasper combined. Talk about being a no fun, well, I had five of them…

"Come on, let's go to school," Alice hurried to intervene before the situation got nasty.

"Sure thing," I agreed, making my car keys fly to my open hand and waving at the four older vampires before following Alice to the garage, where my car was waiting for us.

It was a sweet ride, though I was partial because of my love for bikes. It was a silver Corvette, the type you only see on T.V. shows and movies, and it's enhanced engine was my pride and best work. Yeah, I had totally rebuilt the engine, making the car able to reach impossible speeds.

"Wow," was all that Alice could say once she saw it. Emmet and Jasper, who had followed us, were a completely different story. They could barely stop themselves from drooling all over themselves, let alone utter a single word.

"Yeah, I'll let you guys drive it some time," I said, anticipating what the first words that came out of their mouths when they regained their ability to speak would be. "But for now, Emmy, climb in."

While Alice and Jasper jumped into Edward's Volvo, which he had traded for Carlisle's Mercedes when he decided to leave Forks, Emmet and I got into my Corvette, immediately following the already moving figure of the silver car in front of us. Emmet's head was downcast, and he seemed to be thinking intently about something, so I chose to turn the radio on. 21 guns by Green Day was on and I started humming the melody softly, my eyes turning towards Emmet on their own accord from time to time.

"Okay, I can't stand the silence," I finally sprouted. "Please tell me you're not mad at me from before?"

"What?" he asked, frowning in confusion, as if he wasn't able to process my words correctly. "Why would I be angry with you?"

"I don't know, but you haven't spoken to me since then and you look kinda down," I shuddered, not knowing what else to say. The fact was that I was paying too much attention to everything Emmet was doing, though I still couldn't figure out why I cared so much, so I noticed every emotion that crossed his face.

"I'm just thinking," he replied evasively.

"Nothing kinky, I hope," I teased, smiling knowingly. He grinned apologetically at me, but shook his head.

"Nothing kinky," he promised, crossing his heart. "I'm just trying to figure something out."

"You and I both," I said, focusing back on the road and leaving Emmet to his thoughts, though I could feel his gaze on me overtime.

I parked my car besides the silver Volvo when we arrived to the school's parking lot. Needless to say, the vehicle was given nearly as many looks of appreciation as I was, and, somehow, that seemed to make Emmet as upset as Jasper, though I couldn't figure out what the dark haired vampire would be angry about. I ignored both males' irritated attitudes and, instead, walked side by side with my little sister-in-law.

There was something that was different, though. Every single person at school, not only the boys, seemed to be looking at the four of us with speculation and wonder, which was surely making me uncomfortable. Seriously, didn't they have anything better to look at? Or were their lives so pathetic and dull? I sighed to myself. They lived in a small town; it was rather obvious gossip was one of the only hobbies people had to entertain themselves and who better to gossip about than new people (me) and social outcasts (the Cullens)?

"What?" Alice asked, hearing my small sigh.

"Nothing, just thinking," I said dismissively.

"You seem to be doing that a lot lately," she said nonchalantly. "I wonder why."

"Me too, pixie, me too," I replied, focusing once again on walking through the student-filled campus at a human speed. "I'd better get going. I've got English first."

"Sure, I'll see you later."

I hurried to my English class, trying to ignore the lustful and envious looks I was receiving. When I entered the building, I noticed _my _place next to Bella had been occupied by none other than Mike Newton. She noticed me and waved at me in relief, probably knowing I wouldn't let the hottie wannabe take the seat that belonged to me. I walked up to them, seeing Bella smirking slightly. Newton hadn't noticed me yet, his back was facing me, so I cleared my throat to gain his attention.

"Yes?" he asked, slightly annoyed, as he turned in his place, though his eyes widened and his mouth opened in a gape when he saw me.

"I think you're in my spot, hot stuff," I huffed angrily, tapping my foot to signal him I was waiting for him to move.

"I-I'm so-sorry," he stuttered as his eyes roamed my small body appreciatively. Ew!

"Whatever," I spat. "Just move."

"But I ca-came he-here first," he argued, recovering slightly his ability to speak properly. Okay, I had to admit it, this boy had a backbone. Not many dared speak to me in that way, and he was about to discover why.

"Really?" I drawled, barely managing to contain an evil smirk. "Well, that's too bad, because I sat here yesterday and I have no plans for my seating arrangement to change anytime soon, got it blondie?"

"Um-"

"Move!" I bellowed, pointing away with my finger. As if he had been given an electrical shock, Mike Newton jumped from _my _seat and, picking his stuff, he went to seat next to an acne-covered boy, who I reckon was called Eric or something like that. "Morning, Bella."

"Hey, Nikki," she greeted, still smiling at getting rid of the dork who was sitting next to her. I couldn't blame her; if it had been me, I would've kicked him out of the seat, but Bella was too nice to even consider doing that. "How did you sleep?"

I know she was asking out of politeness, but Bella always had had the brains to ask the most difficult questions. I mean, I couldn't tell her I didn't sleep and, instead, went on a night stroll with the brother I hadn't seen for a century and then I had spent the whole morning being tortured by my pixie sister in law, getting my hair done and my outfit chosen, while my brother went out hunting for blood so he wouldn't attack any human at school. It was just too hard to explain, and she'd probably think I'm a nutcase.

"Well enough, you? Done anything interesting yesterday?" I asked back, lowering my voice to a whisper as the bell rung and the professor entered the classroom.

"Not quite, unless you consider reading and cooking dinner interesting," she replied bored.

After that, the teacher started reading and I had no more chances to talk to my human friend. The vampire ones, though, were a horse of a different colour. I could sustain a whispered conversation with them in a way that not even the closest human could listen to it. Alice and I chatted about pretty much everything during the class we shared. Emmet, however, was unusually quiet, and kept to himself. Maybe it was my presence that bothered him? I made a mind note to ask him later, when the both of us were alone…

**A/N: As promised, here is the next chapter! I want to thank you all for giving me not only five, but SIX reviews for last chappie! I just hope that you can give me as much, if not more, love for this one! xoxo**


	12. Tension

Chapter 11: Tension

"You're not fast enough to catch me."

"Well, you're not as _strong_ as I am anyway."

"Maybe not, but I beat you all the same," I teased, laughing at Emmet's annoyed face and jumping, once more, out of his reach.

It was the weekend and, as planned, Alice, Jasper, Emmet and I went on a hunting trip to Canada. Luckily, the first week of classes was over. I had actually began feeling like a high school girl, hoping to get out of that horrible place as soon as possible. The trip, though, made up for everything I had to put up with the whole school days.

Things hadn't improved a bit from our first day, except they had probably gotten worse than ever. At the beginning, most guys at Forks High had observed me from afar, sending lustful glances at me whenever I was in sight. As the week rode on, though, they had somehow found the courage to approach me and actually ask me out. I couldn't believe it! I always considered myself to be intimidating enough to actually avoid being asked out by a flood of over-hormonal teenage boys, but apparently I wasn't.

After their first irritated reactions, specially from Emmet's behalf, my brother and my new friend were teasing me continually, saying I had lost my touch and arguing playfully who of the boys who approached me had a nicer cutis and hair. I almost lost it when they began acting girlish and discussing which of the boys was cuter and who would match better with me. The results of that, were two fuming male vampires with water splashed all over them from a floating hose. I declared myself innocent, but they didn't believe me anyway.

At the moment, though, Emmet was chasing me around the forest, while I ran as if I had the Volturi behind me, not that I had ever had the pleasure to meet them. He was pretty upset I managed to beat him on our little wrestling match, but I was still faster than him and, therefore, out of danger.

"One of these days I'll get you," Emmet threatened, giving up on his attempts to catch me and smelling up a fresh, grizzly bear trail. His eyes were closed and his dark curls were tousled around by the light breeze, giving off an image of complete tranquillity and peacefulness. I found myself staring at him, unable to tear my eyes off his flawless features. Shaking my head and chastising myself mentally, I snapped out of it.

"Yeah, and that'll be the day Alice burns her whole closet and says that she won't go shopping anymore," I replied, rolling my eyes teasingly, trying not to lay my eyes on Emmet again. I then noticed the pixie-like vampire and my brother were nowhere to be seen. "Where is she, by the way?"

"She and Jasper said they picked up an elk trail and that they wanted to follow it, but, who knows?" Emmet asked rhetorically, opening his eyes and looking at me suggestively. "Maybe they just wanted time to make out in the depths of the forest."

"Ew," I complained, glaring playfully at Emmet and smacking him on the back of his head. "That's something I could've gone the rest of my existence without knowing."

"Glad to be of help," Emmet said, as he laughed at my sour face. "Come on, I want some grizzly."

"Think you can keep up?" I asked, smirking playfully as, like a silvery bullet, I sprinted through the trees, following the trail Emmet had picked up before. I heard his laugh and soon felt his presence behind me, always running, but never managing to catch up.

I was actually very relieved to hear his laugh. After the small incident we had when he entered my bedroom and saw me in nothing but my bra and jeans, he had been acting weirdly, always keeping to himself. When someone asked him the reason for his sudden mood swings, he would say he was thinking about something. I wasn't the only one surprised by that. I mean, I'd never pictured Emmet like a philosophical person, but his family knew for sure he wasn't one to give much thought to things. Whatever he wanted to do, he did, and that was the exact reason he was always getting into troubles.

I stopped when I ran into a small clearing in the woods, coming face to face with a huge and rather irritated-looking grizzly bear. It had to be at least three times my size, not that that counted for much, but it was still a threatening sight; for anyone that didn't have super strength and could make the bear turn to dust in a second. The bear looked at me with furious, little black eyes and started moving towards me but, before I could do anything about it, not that it would've hurt me anyway, Emmet came speeding through the trees, crashing against the bear and sending it to the other end of the clearing with the mere force of his weight.

"Nic! Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Emmet's voice asked, filled with desperation, as he approached me and held my by the shoulders, examining me for any type of wounds, the battered, unmoving and bleeding figure of the grizzly forgotten. I realised some smaller part of my mind was wondering what the hell was going on with the dark-haired vampire in front of me, but, at the moment, I could only see the concern glowing in his topaz eyes, which had darkened considerably the second he thought I was in danger.

"Em, I'm fine, really," I assured him, puzzled by his strange reaction and looking directly at his frantic eyes to let him know I was completely unharmed. "I'm a vamp, remember?"

He hugged me, sighing with relief and I hugged him back, not knowing what the hell had happened to him, but liking the comfort his strong, cold arms provided anyway. After a while, though, Emmet must have realised what he was doing, because I felt him tense and he immediately let me go, the mask of thought I knew so well by them already cast over his beautiful features. What was going on with him? One moment he was acting all worried because of a simple bear and a few seconds after he was pushing me away like he had done the whole week.

"I'm sorry, Nicole," he apologized, too formally for my liking. "I shouldn't have acted like that."

"Em, it's fine, you were worried," I told him, waving my hand dismissively and hoping he would return to his overly cheerful usual personality. He didn't.

"I mean, I'm sorry I hugged you," he clarified. "It was out of place."

Why? Why was he acting like that: so distant, so detached? Was he always like that with vampires outside his family? I don't know why, but, all of a sudden, I felt a deep pang of the sharpest pain I could imagine going through me, and I wished for nothing more than the relief of being able to cry it out, though I knew the tears wouldn't fall from my wet eyes.

"Well, I'm not," I confessed in a small whisper, lowering my head so that Emmet wouldn't see my tear-filled eyes.

He was about to say something, I was sure of that, but we were interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps coming from the forest, followed by the familiar figures of Alice and Jasper coming through the trees behind me. Alice had an excited look on her face, much like she always did. Jasper looked happy too, though his face fell and his expression turned to one of concern as soon as he looked at me.

"Nikki, are you alright?" he asked worriedly, quickly coming to my side and swinging his arm around my slim shoulders, probably feeling my pain and getting worked up over it. "What happened?"

"Nothing," I lied, trying to act brightly and careless. "I was just thinking." Wow, that seemed to have become a most used excuse during the last week.

"Are you sure?" Jasper said, disbelief clear in his face.

"I've already told you I'm fine, Jasper!" I snapped moodily, getting rid of his arm around me, secretly hoping for a different contact. "Lay off, will ya?"

"What happened?" Emmet asked, cutting through the tense silence that had settled in between us after my last words.

"Oh, Alice had a vision," Jasper answered him, though his eyes never left me. I ignored him and turned to look at the pixie-like vampire in front of me, asking with my eyes, like Emmet was doing, for a further explanation.

"Edward's coming back," she informed, bouncing excitedly, though I could see her sneak glances at Emmet and I from time to time. "He'll be here tomorrow afternoon. Isn't that great?"

"It is," I agreed, not knowing what else I could say. I didn't know Edward very well, but I could tell his family missed his presence terribly, specially Esme, who was like the heart of the Cullen family, and Carlisle, who brought and kept them all together.

"Yeah, just peachy," Emmet said, though I could sense some mild sarcasm present in his reply.

"Got used to the privacy, didn't you?" Jasper teased, nudging his brother playfully.

"You have no idea," Emmet sighed.

"Well, we should get going if we want to get there before him," I suggested.

Everyone nodded and, soon, we were on our way back. Unfortunately for me, Emmet had complained all week about how he wanted to take his jeep, while Jasper argued he wanted some alone time with Alice. So I was now seating next to the dark haired vampire on his huge car, silence spreading like a disease between us while he drove through the Canadian roads.

I couldn't understand what I had done to make him upset with me. If he had acted that way from the first time he saw me, I would've thought he was irritated by my mere presence, but we had gone along just fine. I even had taken him for a ride on my baby, and I didn't do that for anyone. Maybe he had realised in the past couple of days he didn't like me that much and was therefore acting distantly. Well, if he didn't enjoy my company, I wasn't going to become a burden for him, even if that meant to stop spending so much time with his family and him. I didn't know why, but only the thought of being away from him and the Cullens caused a pang to go through my dead heart and, as I usually did when I wanted to avoid the pain, I turned it into anger.

"Okay, I'm done with this," I snapped, startling Emmet.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, frowning in confusion.

"If you have a problem with me, that's fucking fine," I snarled, glaring at him. "But I want you to tell me what the hell I've done to you."

"Is this about today?" Emmet asked, his gaze softening, his eyes never on the road but the car never wavering from its path.

"No, it's not about today, it's about the whole fucking week!" I said, my voice raising and the breeze outside turning colder and stronger, fuelled by my increasing anger.

"Nikki-"

"Don't you dare 'Nikki' me," I growled. "You've barely spoken to me these past days and I don't know what I've done to make you angry, dammit."

"You've done nothing wrong, Nikki," Emmet said soothingly, his eyes two golden pools of topaz filled with sadness and regret.

"Oh, right, you've been _thinking_," I drawled sarcastically, in a very accurate imitation of Emmet's deep and rough voice.

"Don't use that tone on me," he snapped angrily, finally showing something that wasn't pity or confusion.

"Sorry mum," I pouted, continuing with my teasing.

"Stop it Nicole," he warned.

"Or what?" I challenged. "What's the big bad Emmet gonna do to me?"

"Okay, that's enough," he hissed, pulling the car aside and glaring at me as he stopped the engine, his expression turning menacing for the first time since I met him. I understood then why many vampires were scared of him. "I want you to listen and I want you to listen carefully. I'm not angry at you and yes, I've been thinking."

"Oh, yeah, what a coincidence," I said, sarcasm deep in my voice. "You suddenly have something to think about, keeping you apart from the rest of us when I appear and I have to believe you don't have a problem with me? What is it, then, that has your mind so busy? And-"

"Nic, just listen, okay," Emmet pleaded, placing one of his soft fingers on my lips to force me to shut up. As soon as his skin made contact with mine, I felt as if a spark had gone through it. I couldn't be sure if Emmet had felt it as well, but I thought he did because as fast as he was able to, he removed his finger from my lips, looking apologetically at me with a mischievous smirk on his sexy, kissable lips… hold on! Where did that come from? "I can assure you I don't hate you at all."

"Then what is it that has you so silent and all?" I asked, my anger having vanished as soon as I took in the pleading look in his eyes. "You seem to have withdrawn all of a sudden and I know it's totally egocentric, but I can't help but thinking it's because of me."

"You're right," he agreed, shifting uncomfortably on the car seat. "But it's not what you think. I could never hate you."

My heart melted at that, not only because of his words, but also because of the sincerity behind them that was reflected in his clear topaz eyes. However, I was too curious a person to let the topic go without further discussion. "What is it then?"

"You remind me of someone," he simply said. I was about to ask him more about it, but, probably to avoid my questioning, Emmet started up the engine again and started driving down the road again at that speed only vampires can keep without causing an accident. "Have you started up on Mrs. Goff's assignment already? I think human teachers seriously make it too hard on students. I mean, if I was still human, I probably wouldn't be able to do such complicated stuff…"

With that, Emmet began a conversation that stretched through the remaining part of the trip back to Forks, successfully diverting my attention from his recent confession and preventing me from asking him about the person I reminded him of. However, being both vampires, we knew the subject wouldn't be avoided much longer, for I would always remember about it and would certainly find the right moment to ask about it.

As much as he tried to hide it with unimportant chatting, I could still feel some kind of tension between Emmet and I. It was as though there were too many things unsaid between us and I was certain that, when they came out, it wouldn't be pretty at all. I knew things were about to change, but, at that point, I had no idea how severe that change would be.

**A/N: And so it begins... Okay guys, I'm really proud of all of you! You gave me the seven reviews I asked for and it was great encouragement! So, seeing as you can do so well, would you do me the honour of giving me 10 reviews for this chappie? I promise things between Emmet and Nikki will get much more heated in a chapter or so! Hope you like! xoxo**


	13. Why Do We Make It So Hard

Chapter 12: Why Do We Make It So Hard?

Needless to say, Monday morning brought another discussion with Alice regarding what outfit I was going to wear for the day. I was starting to think the little pixie had an extra talent to get away with what she wanted, as I just couldn't say no to her when she asked with those puppy eyes and childish pout.

So, there I was, driving my car instead of my beautiful bike and wondering how exactly I agreed to get dressed on a white, knee-length dress with a brown belt across the waistline, vest and high-heeled boots to match. If Alice kept dressing me like that, humans would start to notice there was something wrong with me. I mean, what kind of normal person goes out in nothing but a dress when it's bloody snowing? Really, that pixie had serious problems.

On the bright side, Emmet seemed to love the way I looked, as he couldn't keep his eyes off me. Wait, did I just say 'bright'? Why on earth should it make any difference to me if Emmet liked the way I looked or not? I mean, who cares what he thinks? Well, it could've probably be due to the fact we were back on speaking and normal terms, which, of course, I loved. Yeah… that was the 'bright' side of everything: Emmet and I were back to being friends.

"Good morning, miss popularity," I greeted Bella, sitting in my usual seat at English and glaring at Mike Newton, who was looking at me with jealousy, probably because I had officially claimed the spot he wanted. Sucker!

"Huh?" she asked, puzzled by the nickname.

"I saw you being greeted this morning at the parking lot," I explained with a shrug. "How was your weekend?"

"Peaceful," she admitted. "Yours?"

"Eventful," I said. Bella would've probably questioned me about it further, but Mr. Mason started handing out a pop quiz on _Wuthering Heights_, which, for anyone with half a brain, was as easy as it could be.

When we walked out of class, the air was full of swirling bits of white. I could hear people shouting excitedly to each other. Really, it wasn't that big of a deal! Hadn't they ever seen snow in their lives? Okay, maybe I was being unfair, given that, in my long existence I had seen more snow than I probably would've wanted to. I looked at Bella to see her bearing a mortified expression, which I couldn't help but to laugh at.

"Wow," Newton said, coming right behind us. "It's snowing."

"Really?" I asked in mock surprise. "I wouldn't have been able to figure that out without you, Newton, you're a genius." He blushed and muttered something under his breath that no human would've heard but, unluckily for Mike, I wasn't. "What did you say, dick head?"

"No-Nothing," he stuttered, his body shaking in fear.

"I thought so," I said with an angelical smile.

"Ew," Bella's voice said, making me forget my squabble with the idiot standing next to me.

For once, Newton and I agreed on something. Bella was weird. "Don't you like snow?" he asked.

"No. That means it's too cold for rain." Well, duh. "Besides, I thought it was supposed to come down in flakes — you know, each one unique and all that. These just look like the ends of Q-tips."

"Haven't you ever seen snow fall before?" I asked incredulously.

"Sure I have," she said defensively before pausing and adding: "On TV."

Mike laughed and I couldn't help but smile. And then a big, squishy ball of dripping snow smacked into the back of Newton's head, which had me in total hysterics. Both he and Bella turned to see where it came from. I knew it had been Eric Yorkie, who was walking away, his back toward us — in the wrong direction for his next class. Mike apparently had the right suspicion. He bent over and began scraping together a pile of the white mush.

"I'll see you at lunch, okay?" Bella asked Newton, walking as she spoke, with me following. "Once people start throwing wet stuff, I go inside."

The guy just nodded, his eyes on Eric's retreating figure. I chuckled and said a quick goodbye to Bella as I hurried to my next class… which I shared with Emmet.

"It's going to be okay," Alice breathed. Her eyes were unfocused, and Jasper had hand lightly under her elbow, guiding her forward as we walked into the rundown cafeteria in a close group. Emmet and I led the way, with Edward trailing behind, as if we were the bodyguards and he the subject of our protection. No offence, but I was more concerned for Bella at the moment. She was my friend and, unlike Edward, couldn't take care of herself. As a matter of fact, I was almost certain even the Easter Bunny could take Bella down without much of a fight.

"Of course it is," Edward grumbled moodily.

"Sorry for trying to keep you from uncovering us and killing an innocent school girl," I apologized sarcastically, earning an elbow in the ribs, courtesy of my loving brother. Edward glared, but didn't comment.

I was sure it must have been totally irritating for him to have us behaving so formally and cautiously, specially after our more than playful morning. You see, it was snowing, and Emmet and Jasper had decided it would be a nice thing to do to bombard Edward with snowballs. When they got bored with Edward's lack of response, though, they turned towards each other, as they had taken Alice's threat that she would personally castrate both if a single drop of ice touched either mine or her outfits very seriously.

"She's not here yet, but the way she's going to come in… she won't be downwind if we sit in our regular spot," Alice informed, and we all nodded.

"_Of course_ we'll sit in or regular spot," Edward huffed in annoyance. "Stop it, Alice. You're getting on my nerves. I'll be absolutely fine."

Alice blinked as Jasper finally helped her into her seat, her eyes focusing on the present and, most particularly, on Edward's face.

"Hmm," she said, surprise clear in her voice. "I think you're right."

"_Of course_ I am," Edward muttered, irritated. Poor guy, it must be awful for him to have his own family doubting his every move. As I thought that, his eyes turned to my face and he rolled his eyes as if saying 'You have no idea'.

"Stay out of my head," I ordered warningly, hating the lack of privacy.

"If only I could," he sighed, throwing a pointed glance at Emmet, who was currently in one of his thinking moods again.

"Anything new?" Jasper asked, referring to the fact that Edward's gift, as annoying and outraging as it was for me and those who lived with him, allowed him to become aware of any type of suspicion the humans at school might have as regards us vamps.

"Nothing," he replied puzzled by something I couldn't quite understand. "She… must not have said anything."

Everyone raised their eyebrows at this news. Oh, so it was Bella they were talking about. Really, those mental conversations Edward was able to have with whoever he wanted sometimes were far too difficult to keep up with.

"She isn't much of a whiner," I informed. "I don't think she's the kind of girl to gossip with others about other people, not even us."

"Maybe you're not as scary as you think you are," Emmet said, chuckling. "I bet I could have frightened her better than _that_."

"Possibly," I agreed. "But you're not trying that theory anytime soon unless you want your Jeep to suddenly turn pink."

Everyone at the table laughed at Emmet's expense, including Edward, who was quite the brooding one, as far as I could tell. The dark-haired vampire glared playfully at me, to end up cracking a small smile as well.

"She's coming in," Alice murmured then. From the corner of my eye, I saw Edward's body tense up and go rigid under his designer shirt Alice had forced him to wear. "Try to look human."

"Human, you say?" Emmet asked with a mischievous look in his eyes I'd learnt to recognise in those few days as a sign of trouble.

He held up his right fist, twisting his fingers to reveal the snowball he'd saved in his palm. Of course it had not melted there. He'd squeezed it into a lumpy block of ice. He had his eyes on Jasper but, when he abruptly hurled the ice chunk, it was directed towards Alice instead. Having surely foreseen what Emmet's intentions were, Alice flicked it away with a casual flicker of her fingers, keeping up her human appearance. The ice, though, ricocheted across the length of the cafeteria, too fast to be visible to human eyes, luckily, and shattered with a sharp crack against the brick wall. The brick cracked, too.

The heads in the corner of the room all turned to stare at the pile of broken ice on the floor, and then swivelled to find the culprit. They didn't look further than a few tables away. No one looked at us, of course.

"Really human, Em," I congratulated, my voice heavily laced with irony. "Why don't you punch through the wall while you're at it?"

"It would look more impressive if you did it, baby," he replied cockily.

"I'm sure it would," I countered back, smiling jokingly at Emmet and ignoring Jasper's threatening glance at Emmet because of his comment. "But I already have my own fan club, thank you."

"Why don't you go sit with them? I'm sure they wouldn't mind your company," Emmet said, pointing towards two or three tables filled to the top with the most over-hormonal boys at Forks High, all staring at me in awe, as if I was some sort of miracle or something.

"Mmm, I don't know," I trailed off in mock thought. "They lack something…"

"What?" Jasper asked, entertained by our bantering.

"Dignity," I replied simply, making both my brother and Emmet chuckle, while Alice snorted in amusement. Edward, on the other hand, was too busy staring at Bella and her human friends. I elbowed Emmet on the ribs and we both turned to look at his brother, who now had a pained-looking smile on his face as he turned to us, while Alice and Jasper engaged themselves in one of their 'I-look-into-your-soul' stares.

Edward continued with his inspection of Bella's table and Emmet and I looked at each other, our eyebrows raised, smiling lightly at Edward's whipped attitude. All of a sudden, Alice's eyes unfocused, as they did when they were having a vision, and she elbowed Edward, causing him to look at her. Whatever she was thinking, made Edward tense up all over again.

"Ease up, Edward," Emmet said in his usual unconcerned tone. "Honestly. So you kill a human. That's hardly the end of the world."

I growled at him. Hey! It was my new friend he was talking about and I would not let Edward, or anyone else for that matter, harm her, let alone kill her. Emmet looked back at me apologetically, but my glare remained in place.

"You would know," Edward murmured.

Emmet laughed and I couldn't help but glare at him harder. I honestly didn't found anything funny with the whole situation. "You've got to learn to get over things," he said. "Like I do. Eternity is a long time to wallow in guilt." Okay, he was somewhat right, but that didn't mean I would let them hurt Bella.

As I was about to open my mouth to make that point clear, Alice tossed a smaller handful of ice she'd been hiding into Emmet's unsuspecting face.

He blinked, surprised, as we all laughed at him, and then grinned in anticipation. He could probably already see a snow fight coming.

"You asked for it," he said as he leaned across the table and shook his ice-encrusted hair in her direction. The snow, melting in the warm room, flew out from his hair in a thick shower of half-liquid, half-ice. Unluckily, I was sitting next to Alice, and some of it ended up on me.

"The outfit!" Alice complained as we recoiled from the deluge.

I laughed at her reaction and they all joined in. Even Alice giggled, as she held her tray up as a shield to cover herself and her precious clothes.

"Edward Cullen is staring at you." It was only a faint whisper, coming from the other end of the crowded cafeteria, but I heard it all the same and focused on it to find its source.

Of course, who could it be if not Jessica Stanley, the school's greatest gossip? Not that I knew her too well, but one could tell…

"He doesn't look angry, does he?" another voice, which I recognised as Bella's, whispered back. My back was turned against the girls, so I couldn't see Jessica's reaction at Bella's unusual question.

"No," she replied, though I could tell from the sound of her voice only that she was wishing she could say otherwise. "Should he be?"

"I don't think he likes me," Bella whispered back shyly, which made my heart swell with tenderness. She was just such a nice person!

"The Cullens don't like anybody," Jessica reassured her. "Well, they don't notice anyone enough to like them, though they're now hanging out with the new school whore. Anyway, I think Emmet Cullen just wants to screw her and that's why they're letting her in."

I couldn't contain an animalistic growl at Jessica's words, and I wasn't the only one. Jasper, being the protective brother he was, was looking completely furious, but Emmet's fuming was greater than his. He was glaring at Jessica with pitch-black eyes, which had previously been golden, and made a motion to stand up. As fun as it would've been to see what he would've done to Jessica, I couldn't let him expose us all, and I still had enough control over myself to realise that throwing the annoying bitch across the room wouldn't be too conspicuous. So, mustering all my common sense, I used my powers to keep Emmet on his seat.

"Nikki's my friend and, personally, I think she's great," Bella said coldly, giving Jessica a glare of her own. Wow, I didn't knew the girl had it in her! "And I think that, if you have any problem with her, you should say it to her face. I'm sure she'll be more than willing to sacrifice some of her time to give you a piece of her mind." Hell, I would be giving her far more than just a piece of my mind if - no, _when_ - I had the chance.

I had a sudden urge to run across the cafeteria and hug Bella with all my might. She was just an amazing person. Everyone in the table was looking at her with approval, though Emmet was still glowering at Jessica from time to time.

"Never mind her," Jessica hurried to say dismissively, shifting uncomfortably under Bella's glare, and the unseen, but threatening ones of the Cullen clan. "Edward Cullen's still staring at you."

"Stop looking at him," Bella said anxiously, checking on Jessica to see if she had obeyed or not. I couldn't blame her, though. Jessica, as much as I hated her, didn't seem like a trustworthy person.

Bella's eyes avoided our table and, most particularly Edward, during the rest of lunch period. In the meantime, no words were exchanged between any of us, as we were all very concerned with looking at Edward and evaluating his reaction. Would it be safe for him to go to class with Bella? Only him and Alice could answer that question.

"I… _think_ it's okay," Alice said, hesitant as the humans filled out of the cafeteria when the bell rang. "Your mind is set. I _think_ you'll make it through the hour."

"Thoughts and suppositions are not enough, Alice," I piped in, shaking my head in concern. "We're dealing with a person's life here and we shouldn't be taking it lightly."

"She's right," Jasper agreed. "Why push it, Edward? Go home. Take it slow."

"What's the big deal?" Emmet asked, ignoring my glare. "Either he will or won't kill her. Might as well get it over with, either way."

"Wow, Em," I sighed, disappointedly, getting up from my seat. "You just redefined the word 'insensitive'."

Ignoring everyone's words, specially Emmet's pleads for forgiveness, I made my way out of the cafeteria, fuming slightly. How could he be so insensitive? I knew that it was natural for vampires to kill and watch people dying but it was just so could of him to talk about Bella's death like that…

Unaware of it, my feet had carried me to the Spanish class, where I took a seat among the chattering teenagers, pointedly ignoring everyone and keeping to myself. I had seen so much death and destruction in my life, suffered the pain of having people die around me that I simply couldn't bear Emmet talking about it as if it was a matter of fact, as if Bella's life was little more than nothing to him.

"Nic?" a soft voice asked from my right.

I knew who it was. He had sat in that same spot during all of our Spanish classes of the year, but, right then, I couldn't even look at him in the eye. Those beautiful, topaz eyes, filled with regret that caused knots to form in my stomach and - _focus, dammit! You're mad at him, remember?_

Mustering all of my will power, I avoided making eye contact with him. Even when every fibre of my being was screaming at me to look at the gorgeous vampire besides me, I didn't. I was angry. Hell, I was beyond angry, I was royally pissed and I wouldn't give in so easily.

"Nic, please?" he begged, placing his big hand over my smaller one. "Would you just look at me?"

Snatching my hand away from under his, I stared fixedly at the board and the teacher, but none of those caught my attention. For one split second, I had unintentionally crossed a look with Emmet and I couldn't erase his heartbroken expression from my mind. I felt as if I was experiencing the fire from my transformation over again. I was in pure agony. I wanted nothing more than to apologize to Emmet for making him feel that way, to hug him and never let go, but, of course, I didn't.

Damn me and my stupid pride! I was too stubborn and arrogant to accept Emmet's apology and was hurting him and myself in the process of ignoring him. Why did I always make things so hard on everyone? Why couldn't I do what my heart wanted instead of what my cold, rational mind commanded?

The answer was simple. I was hurt a lot of times for acting upon my heart wishes. My past naivety had cost the lives of people I loved and I just couldn't let go of it. I would obey my logical part because I knew from experience that you can trust no one with your heart.

So, when the bell rang I simply walked out of the classroom as fast as I could without calling too much attention upon myself and, instead of going to my gym class as I should have, I went towards the parking lot, where my car sat peacefully next to Edward's Volvo. Ignoring the fact that the four Cullens would have to cram themselves into that small sardine can Edward called a car, I got into mine and drove away, each kilometre driving me further and further away from Forks High, from Emmet.

**VERY IMPORTANT A/N: So... Here's next chapter! I must say that I only updated today for the sake of such amazing readers like Tempted Fate, Padfoot's Love, WhisperInTheRain and my beta Kelsey-Short who have been the only ones to review last chapter :( Despite the fact I didn't get the ten reviews I wanted (pout) I didn't want to keep you people waiting, as I'm going on a trip with my classmates for the next two weeks and I'll be tooooooo drunk to even remember my name, let alone my stories... SO, why don't you review this chapter and wish me luck on my trip while you're at it (and pray that I don't end up in an alcohol-induced coma:s)? :) xoxo**


	14. Primitive Attraction

Chapter 13: Primitive Attraction

"You're home early," Sarah said astonished as I walked sulkily into the beautiful house in the outskirts of Forks.

"Left school early," I replied monotonously, tossing my car keys into a bowl on a small coffee table and heading straight for the stairs and my bedroom.

"I could figure that one out, my question is why," Sarah pressed on, following me and rolling her eyes at my foul mood.

"I don't want to talk about it, okay?" I snapped, getting into my room and slamming the door after me.

I knew I was acting like a spoiled child, but I had the right to get pissed once in a while and hell I was going to! What was it I was so angry about? I couldn't remember quite well, but I knew it was stupid and it had to do with Emmett and his lack of sensitivity in dealing with Edward's Bella issue.

I mean, I could deal with the fact that Emmett had killed people before but, if he had turned into 'vegetarianism' he should at least have had some kind of respect for human life, right? Why would he decide to drink animal blood if he didn't give a shit about humans?

What's more: why on earth was it so important to me? I barely knew Emmett. Hell, I wouldn't even have come to care about any of the Cullens if it hadn't been for Jasper's sudden reappearance. I was quite sure it wasn't about Bella. Yeah, the girl was nice and all, but the possibility of her death wasn't the reason of my horrible mood. No, it was Emmett. Stupid, huge, bear-like and incredibly handsome Emmett. Yeah, I'll admit it; the boy was completely hot, even for vampire standards but that's all he was in his mind, a stupid boy. Couldn't he just grow up a little?

My musings were interrupted by the phone suddenly ringing. I let it go, assuming Sarah would answer, but she didn't. She had probably gone out or something. So I picked the device up and, pressing a small button, placed it on my ear.

"Yep?"

"_Nikki, is that you?"_ Alice's high-pitched voice came over the phone, sounding rushed. _"I've been meaning to talk to you since lunch."_

"What is it, Alice?" I asked, sighing tiredly. I just wanted time to think about things on my own. If I had been human, I was quite sure I would've been asleep by then; it would've been wonderful to be able to rest…

"_I wanted to apologize for Emmett," _she said. At the mention of his name, my grip on the phone tightened and I had to prevent myself from breaking it. _"He didn't meant it like that, I swear. He's really sorry about it."_

"Well, too bad," I snarled, my anger flaring out of nowhere. Jeez, I was totally PMSing. "'Cause I don't want to talk about it. You can tell him that."

"_Oh, Nikki, he's not here,"_ Alice informed, sounding kind of nervous. _"He's heading for your house right now."_

"What do you mean?" I asked in panic, understanding the reason behind her nerves. She was totally gauging my reaction. However, I couldn't talk to Emmett face to face! That was exactly the reason I had left school! If I had only taken a glimpse into his beautiful eyes, I would've given up very easily, and I didn't want that. "He can't come here!"

"_Well, he should be about to arrive,"_ Alice said. _"He left home about ten minutes ago, so he will be there in a minute and fourteen seconds."_

"Great, thank you for the heads up," I muttered sarcastically, though I wasn't quite sure Alice had identified the irony behind my words.

"_No problem!"_ she chirmed in her usual cheerful mood. _"Talk to you later, I wouldn't want to interrupt Emmett's and your conversation."_

I knew there was a hidden meaning behind her words, as if she knew something I was ignoring, but I didn't have enough time to dwell on it and Alice, being Alice, wouldn't have told me, even if I had spent hours trying to coax it out of her. Not that I had the time because, as soon as she said those words, a knock came from the door, announcing Emmett's arrival.

"He's here," I said. "Call you later?"

"_No need,"_ Alice reassured me. _"You'll be at my house in three hours and six minutes, so I'll talk to you then."_

"Have I ever told you how annoying you can be?" I asked mockingly.

"_I already know, don't worry,"_ she said happily ignoring the insult. _"Bye, Nikki!"_

"Goodbye, Alice," I greeted, hanging the phone and rushing out of my room as another knock was heard. "I'm coming! Jeez! Impatient much?"

I stormed down the stairs and opened the main door, not even bothering to look at Emmett there, let alone greet him. Without making any kind of offer for him to step inside, I walked into the kitchen, sitting myself in one of the three-legged stools there and waiting for Emmett to follow. He closed the door and came right behind me, taking a seat right in front of me and gazing at me with those beautiful eyes filled with regret and something else; something I couldn't recognize. Hesitation, maybe?

Anyway, I could barely keep my eyes off him. I didn't know what was going on with me, but my sight was glued to Emmett: his godlike features, his strong arms that I wished were wrapping me instead of folded defensively over his torso, his muscled chest, defined by the simple, black t-shirt he was wearing and his oh so kissable lips.

"Hi," he said in a smooth voice that I couldn't help but think of as sexy. What was going on with me? I didn't reply and, at that, he sighed tiredly. "Okay, Nic, I know you won't speak to me, so I'll do the talking." Emmett straightened himself up and looked right into my eyes, causing me to get lost in the depths of his own topaz orbs. "I cannot explain to you how sorry I am about everything, not only about Bella."

"What do you mean?" I asked in confusion, curiosity getting the better of me and causing me to talk, despite my vow of silence. What else did he have to be sorry about?

"We'll talk about that later, but first I want to apologize for talking like that about your friend," he said, his eyes downcast. "Not only it was out of place, but I didn't mean it either."

"Why say it, then?" I questioned, trying very hard to keep my cold demeanor, which was proving to be very hard.

"I don't know," he replied truthfully, meeting my eyes and allowing me to see the sincerity shining in his. "I guess it's just me, you know. Always trying to be the funny one, trying to make you laugh…"

"You don't need to try, Emmett," I said sadly. "You can make people happy just by being who you are."

"You really think so?" he asked hopefully, like a small, bouncy child who needed reassurance. Mischief, though, was clearly shown in his eyes. He was joking, back to his usual self.

"Works with me," I admitted with a shrug and a small smile, which he corresponded to. His happy appearance fell, though, a few seconds later.

"So… are we okay?" he asked hesitantly, no jest in his eyes that time.

"Of course we are," I agreed, jumping from my seat and going to hug Emmett. On mid-leap, however, Emmett's body shifted slightly and, before I could realize what was going on, I was standing face to face with him, my eyes locked into his, our lips mere inches apart. I didn't know where it came from, but I suddenly found myself wishing I could make that distance between us disappear and just kiss him, feel how his lips would taste, how they would move in sync with my own, how it would be to touch his huge muscles, to dig my hands into his soft, curly hair and never let go…

"Nic?" Emmett asked, bringing me out of my day dreaming. However, it seemed to me as if he was lost in his thoughts as well, my name a mere sigh coming from his parted lips to make me realize the compromising position we were in.

"Sorry," I apologized as I untangled myself from the tight grip his arms were holding me in. Maybe it was just my imagination, but I thought I distinguished a flash of emotion going through his eyes as I did so. Longing, maybe? It was then the reason we were in that position in the first place hit me. "How did things go with Bella and Edward?"

"What?" he asked, seeming confused and lost for a moment, as if his mind was far away from our current conversation.

"Bella and Edward," I repeated slowly, as if talking to a child or someone whose knowledge of the language was quite basic. "What happened with them?"

"Oh! Uh… they're both fine, I guess," he replied, though I could tell he wasn't that much into what he was saying. "I was somewhat concerned when I saw Alice ditch her class out of the window and walk towards the science building, but Edward reassured me everything was alright as soon as I saw him. He and Carlisle went hunting all the same."

"That's good," I said, trying to fake enthusiasm when, in reality, my thoughts were far from the Edward/Bella situation and, instead, revolving around the vampire standing near me. Somehow, though, it appeared none of us had anything else to add, so we fell into an awkward silence "So… you want to watch a movie or something?" I asked, glancing at my intertwined hands so as to avoid Emmett's intense gaze.

"Uh… sure," he agreed, probably relieved to be able to break through the uncomfortable silence that had settled between us. His usual smirk then returned full force, and I found myself thinking of how much I had missed it. "But no chick-flick."

"No chick-flick," I agreed with a laugh as we made our way to the living room, where Patrick's huge DVD collection was. As soon as I saw a particular movie on top of the small coffee table, I immediately knew what film I wanted to watch. My own favorite. "Hey, Em? What about something from my time?"

"But, were there movies then?" he asked, sounding confused and scratching his head in a totally adorable way.

I laughed at him, shaking my head in amusement. "No silly, I meant something set in my time," I explained.

"Yeah, whatever you want is fine with me," he agreed, smiling cutely. Okay, one, he was totally hot when he did that. Two, my stomach felt as if it was filled with butterflies. And three, why am I even thinking about Emmett in that way? He's nothing more than a friend, right?

Shaking my head to dismiss those kind of thoughts, I put in Pride and Prejudice, the 2006 version with Keira Knightley. I had read the book over and over again for my past vampire existence and I never got tired of doing it and, when the movie came out, it started all over again.

If Emmett had any type of problem with the movie choice, he wisely chose to keep it to himself, probably sensing I would kick his ass if he made a negative comment about my favorite movie. Instead, he turned off the lights and sat in the sofa, patting the spot next to him in invitation, which I gladly took.

It was about a half-hour later, though, that I realized my mistake in picking a movie I had practically memorized. I was interested by it, of course, but that interest was nowhere near the pull Emmett's presence had on my gaze and, what was even worse, my body. I wanted to look at him, to run my hands through his unruly hair and well-sculpted chest, to feel his body pressed against mine and to crash my lips against his cold, marble-like ones.

I hadn't realized when it began, but, at that moment, I was completely aware of the primitive attraction I felt towards the vampire I had come to consider my friend. It was as if there was a spark between us, of lust, desire and need. It wasn't just that I wanted him; I _needed_ him.

But he surely didn't feel the same way about me. Why would he? He was sweet, nice and incredibly handsome and I was just… well, me. Don't get me wrong, I was hot and I knew it. I wasn't going to act like those girls who _are_ pretty, but prefer to see themselves as undesirable by men. I had never been insecure before, so why was I doubting myself then?

Maybe I didn't want to ruin my friendship with Emmett. Yes, he was totally hot and I was certainly attracted by him, but I wasn't willing to risk my relationship with him over a mere crush that he might not even correspond. No, I wouldn't act upon my wishes, no matter how much I wanted to.

Risking a glance at Emmett, I could notice his posture had become rather stiffed and that his eyes were fixed on the screen, but that he didn't seem to be really processing what he was watching. His hands were tightly knit on his lap and he was twitching them nervously, as if hesitating on doing something, which I ignored.

I tried to focus my gaze on the playing movie, but the feel of Emmett's body next to me was enough to make my mind wander through dirtier paths. Maybe watching a movie wasn't such a good idea after all.

But I wasn't the only one who couldn't concentrate and I knew it. I could sense Emmett's restlessness besides me as if it was my own. Strangely, I _felt _it as if it was my own. It was after a particularly deep sigh that I turned my head to look at him, my resolve to keep focused on the movie shattered, but I found myself not seeing anything, as my eyelids had closed on their own accord.

I found his lips had crashed into mine and he was kissing me like I had never been kissed before: with passion, desire but, above all, I was being kissed as if I was something breakable and delicate, as if I was the most precious thing in the world, as if I was cherished and loved for the first time in my life. Non-surprisingly, I found myself kissing Emmett back with all I had. His lips were soft against mine, his mouth tasting of peppermint and summer breeze, his hands cupping my cheeks carefully and sweetly, as if I was as fragile as a normal human. My own hands, had found their way to Emmett's hair, where they tangled around his short, dark locks, enjoying their softness.

Hold on! My mind was screaming at me that something was wrong, and I soon realized what I was doing. I was kissing Emmett! My brother's almost brother! That wasn't right at all! With that realization going through me, I quickly broke the kiss, to find myself staring at Emmett's eyes, which had darkened with the intensity our kiss had held.

"What are we doing, Em?" I asked rhetorically.

He smirked mischievously. Yummy… No! Bad Nikki! Focus! "What does it look like?" he asked back and inched his face closer to mine, in an attempt to continue with the kiss. I moved backwards, causing Emmett to look puzzled and hurt, but sit back, nevertheless. "What's wrong?"

"Emmett, this isn't right," I whispered, looking right into his eyes, trying to convey the emotional turmoil going through me with a single look. "We can't do this."

"Why not?" he persisted, before smiling and going on with one of his usual jokes. "I like you. Don't you like me back?" Yup, he was acting like a shy school boy, twitching his hands, pouting, and even shifting his weight between his feet.

However teasing his demeanor might have been, his question proved to be a challenging one. Did I like Emmett? _Yes!_ my heart screamed with all its might. Well, I guess he was hot, and funny, and nice, and caring, and I had already established I was completely attracted to him in a physical way but, hadn't I promised myself I wouldn't listen to what my heart told me?

"I do, but…" I trailed off, not knowing what to say. I liked him, didn't I? Then how could it be so difficult for me to reach a decision? He practically confessed his feelings were much like mine, so what exactly was the problem?

And then it hit me. I was shattered, and that was because Kevin; because of a guy; because of what he did to me. Could I allow myself to trust another man? Most importantly, would I?

But Emmett was not like Kevin. No one I had ever met in my long years had had the same evilness he had in his heart, especially not Emmett. He was kind, sweet and gentle with me, whereas Kevin had only treated me roughly and disrespectfully. Besides, Emmett would never do what Kevin did to me. He cared, right?

"You're scared," Emmett guessed, quite incorrectly if I might add. Scared? Hell, I wasn't scared. Terrified was more like it. "You're afraid to let me in, because you fear I'll break your heart." Wow, did Emmett have a degree in psychology? I should totally ask Alice about that…

"Will you?" I asked, pleading with all I had for him to be sincere, but, at the same time, lowering my eyes so he wouldn't see the moisture that had settled in them.

I heard a deep sigh before I felt Emmett's fingers under my chin, lifting my face so he could look straight into my eyes with his breathtaking ones. Gosh, he really was beautiful… "I would rather experience the burning of the transformation again than do anything that could bring you any harm," he said in all earnest, bringing out a side of him I would've never known he possessed. "It would be less painful than looking at you and knowing I caused you pain."

"Oh, Emmett!" I exclaimed, throwing myself at him and engulfing him in a bear hug. Could he get any sweeter?

"Will you give me a chance, Nikki?" he asked, his cold breath falling onto my hair and making me shiver with the pleasure of his closeness. "Will you let me be the man you need? Will you give _us_ a chance?"

I slowly dethatched myself from his embrace, taking my time to take in his expression, filled with nervousness and sincerity. Could it be? Could he be the man I'd been looking for ever since I became a vampire? The one that would become my mate? The one that could heal the wounds that time had been unable to cure? If there was someone who I believed could achieve that, it was Emmett.

"Of course," I replied, my voice a mere whisper of happiness before his lips fell upon mine, with no attempt to protest on my behalf.

**A/N: I'm so so so sorry I took so long to post this chapter! I guess I was still kind of tipsy from everything I drank, even when almost a week has passed since my arrival. I want to thank all of my last chapter's reviewers! You guys rock! I couldn't help but remembering your comments when I was about to take off! Now, could this chapter get as much, or maybe more, feedback as the previous one? After all it has a lot of Emmett in it, and things will just grow from here, I promise! A special thanks to ****Kelsey-Short****, who has the patience to beta a new story I'm working on and to put up with me! Xoxo (I'm posting this while at school :p)**


	15. I Won't Let You

Chapter 14: I Won't Let You

"Where's Edward?" I asked, glancing around the living room in search for the missing vampire. "We have school in less than an hour."

"He's out by the river," Emmett replied, gazing through his room window then turning to me with a small sigh. "He'll be in and changed in a minute, don't worry about that. We won't be late."

I wasn't exactly worried about that part, but I refrained from spilling my thoughts to Emmett. Even when there was no fooling Alice, the rest of the vampires living in Forks, Patrick and Sarah included, were none the wiser about Emmett's and mine recently changed relationship, and that's how I meant to keep it, at least for a while.

It wasn't that I didn't want people to know about Emmett and I being together. On the contrary, I wished for nothing more than to make it clear for the bitches at Forks High that he was taken, and I wouldn't at all miss the human stalkers that would be afraid of nearing me again for fear of Emmett's reaction, but I certainly wasn't too eager to tell Jasper and neither was Emmett. We both knew that me being his baby sister, he wouldn't take it too well that I was dating Emmett. Not only because he was over four human years older than me, but also because they were practically brothers in everything but blood. He would see Emmett dating me as little less than treason and there was no telling how he would react to the news.

Besides, Alice had foretold Jasper's reaction to the news wouldn't be too pretty, which discouraged Emmett from his decision of telling him right away. When we were in a more private setting, or as private as we could get in a house full of vampires, Alice told me Jasper would've castrated Emmett had we told him about us that day. I had been thinking she was kidding until I realized she had a very serious expression on.

Therefore, I was adamant on keeping our relationship a secret, at least for the moment and, to continue with my plan, Emmett and I would need Edward's help. Yeah, we could block him from reading our thoughts or avoid thinking of each other when the mind-reader carrot-head was near, but it wouldn't be long before something slipped and, also, even I had to admit Emmett wasn't the brightest star in the sky, though I lo- cared for him all the same, and he was the most likely one to let Eddie know about us.

"We've been over this, okay?" Emmett asked in a whisper, putting his arms around my waist and making me lean against his broad chest. "We'll just tell him the truth and that we want some more time before letting Jasper know. He won't tell on us, I'm sure."

"You really think it'll work out well?" I said unsurely, turning in his grip and wrapping my arms around his neck.

"I know it will," he smiled, nuzzling his nose against mine, causing me to grin in return. Underneath all those muscles and tough appearance, Emmett was a real sweetheart and I was glad I had chosen him to give the whole relationship thing another try.

The bedroom's door opened and, using our vampire speed, Emmett and I were soon at different ends of it, trying to appear nonchalant. It was pointless, however, as the person who had entered the room was Alice, who already knew about us. Her topaz orbs scanned the room and she giggled softly as she realized the distant positions Emmett and I had assumed. The sound made the both of us relax slightly, as we shot pointed glares at the seer who failed to see what her sudden intrusion would cause.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself," she apologized with a shrug and a mischievous smirk. She was truly an evil little pixie. "I just thought you should know Edward is getting dressed right now, so we'll be on our way to school in exactly four and a half minutes. Jasper is out so if you want to talk to Edward, now would be the right time."

"Thanks Alice," Emmett said gratefully, wrapping his small sister in a bear hug. I couldn't help but giggle lightly at the scene: even though their difference in size, Alice and Emmett actually looked as siblings, with their dark hair and looks of mischief.

"Yeah, thanks pixie," I laughed, having both Emmett and Alice pulling me into their embrace. "Come on, we should go talk to Eddie."

"Good luck," Alice wished us as we walked out of Emmett's room and towards Edward's.

I was nervous as hell, but I tried my best, at least for Emmett's sake to hide it. He didn't exactly need my negative emotions adding to his own. However, he must've noticed I wasn't exactly feeling my best, as he smiled slyly at me before he knocked on Edward's door.

"Come in," Edward's voice called from the inside, not bothering to ask who it was, as he probably already knew.

We did as he told, Emmett giving my hand one last encouraging squeeze before releasing it from his grasp. "How was hunting, bro?" he asked calmly, plopping onto Edward's couch and dragging me with him.

"Same as every day, I guess," he replied in a bored tone, shifting his gaze between Emmett and me with a curious expression. "Is there anything I can help with?" Emmett spared a glance at me, adoration and love clear in his eyes, and I was sure that was all it took for Edward to understand. "Oh, I see…"

"The matter is, Edward," I said, refraining from using the pet name 'Eddie' as it wouldn't have helped our case, "we'd like some time before we allowed everyone to know about it."

"You mean you don't want Jasper to find out yet," he clarified, not as a question, but a statement.

"Well… yeah," I agreed, though reluctantly. "Alice already knows, of course, and she was alright with keeping it a secret for now."

"I'm in," he sighed, after almost a minute of silent thinking that had both Emmett and me glancing nervously at each other. "For now."

"We'll tell him soon, I promise," Emmett conceded, grinning happily despite the perspective of having to tell an over protective brother about dating his little sister. "Thank you, Eddie."

"Call me that again and Jasper might just find out about you and Nikki," Edward threatened, though he did wink at me when Emmett wasn't watching.

"Thanks, Edward," I said as I got Emmett's hand and dragged him out of the room, before he could say something that messed things us for real.

We had to act less like a couple when we got downstairs, though, because Jasper, Carlisle and Esme had returned from whatever they had been doing. Edward came after us, holding his car keys as Alice got inside the room, looking quite sad for some reason I couldn't understand.

"Are we going or not?" Jasper, who seemed to be the most oblivious of us all, asked.

"Yeah, let's," Alice said, struggling to plant a smile on her face and failing miserably.

It was a quiet ride to school. All of us, even Emmett who, most of the times, was completely ignorant of those kind of things, were able to tell Alice was upset about something she wasn't letting on. Jasper didn't need to be an empath to realize it, and was waiting for Alice to talk to him instead of trying to coax it out of her. He was too worried to notice that, in the safety of the back seat, Emmett's hand had slowly crept towards mine, holding it inside his bigger one. I tried my best to feel nothing about it, knowing Jasper would find out something was going on if I did and thought I had been successful, as he didn't say anything about it.

As soon as we got to school, Jasper and Emmett, who were having Trig together walked away from the parking lot and to class, claiming they had something to ask the teacher about a project that would earn them extra credits. However, all of us knew that they were simply bored with Edward's fixation on Bella. They couldn't understand how a human could be so interesting for a vampire, no matter how good she smelled to him. Alice and I, on the other hand, couldn't wait to know how the whole Bella/Edward story would end, considering Alice's visions weren't giving us a clue. Besides, my first class was English with Bella, so I thought it would be a polite thing to do to wait for her.

I knew it wouldn't take long for her to reach school, as I could already hear the thunderous chugging of her truck's engine in the distance. Edward was waiting for the same person as I was, leaning on the side of his car and pretending to talk to Alice, though, in reality, they were having one of those one-sided conversations only they could understand.

I was distracted from the view of Alice and Edward, though, as Bella's truck slowly entered the parking lot. To be honest, I was quite amused by the speed she was driving at, or lack of thereof, until I realized the cold day had caused a thin sheet of ice to cover the streets, therefore making the humans more cautious when driving. Bella's eyes were intent on the road in front of her and her hands tight on the wheel, confirming my suspicions that she was anxious about the weather.

She parked not too far away from us and slowly and carefully got off her car, not noticing the way Edward's eyes were almost burning a hole in the back of her head with the intensity of his stare. Really, he seemed like a lovesick puppy! Oh, god! That was it! He was, or was going to be, in love with Bella!

Just as my mind made the unconscious decision of telling Alice about my newest theory, I saw her look my way, her eyes wide open in surprise, but a mischievous smile in place, telling me she had already seen what I was planning to tell her. It was then that Alice's eyes turned towards her brother, who was currently looking at Bella with an amused smile on his face as she made her way towards the rear of her truck, holding to its side for dear life, probably afraid of falling flat on her ass if she let go. Nothing spelt 'head-over-heels-in-love' more than Edward's look and, what was more, he appeared to be too distracted to be able to understand Alice's and my thoughts, which was an obvious plus.

Alice and my gazes crossed and we both smiled at each other, pleased by the way things were turning out. If everything went alright, Edward might've finally found his mate and he wouldn't have to be the only one single among of the rest of us.

However, things changed too fast for anyone that wasn't a vampire to notice. All of a sudden, Alice's expression, which had held nothing but amusement and happiness before, became a mask of horror and panic.

"No!" she gasped aloud, attracting Edward's attention, which had been solely focused on Bella until then. I knew Alice was having a vision and I was somehow sure it had something to do with Bella.

No sooner the thought crossed my mind, a dark blue van, which a small part of my brain registered belonged to Tyler Crowley, rounded the corner at an injudicious speed. It was skidding, tires locked and squealing against the brakes, spinning wildly across the ice of the parking lot. It was going to hit the back corner of Bella's truck, and she was standing between them at the worse place she could've been.

Just as my brain registered all those facts, Edward's form became a blur as he launched himself across the lot, throwing himself between Tyler's van and the unmoving figure of Bella. No human could've seen him at that speed but Alice and I watched, in horror and fascination, how he caught the fragile girl around the waist, yanking her body out of the truck's path and to the ground in his arms. Then, Tyler's van made it impossible for anyone on our side of the lot to see what was going on, though, by the sounds I could hear, no one had been killed.

"I'll go get the others," Alice whispered urgently at the same time the van fell to the floor one final time, its windows shattering into thousands of shards. "Make sure everything's handled."

"Sure thing," I agreed before running across the lot at a human pace, being the first one there among the rest of the squeamish and wailing humans. "Someone call 911!"

More people gathered around the scene and, luckily, some got their cell phones out to call the authorities. I wasn't exactly worried about Edward, as he was pretty much indestructible, but Bella, despite being talking to him, not loud enough for other humans to hear but clearly enough for me, could be suffering from internal damage, not to mention what could've become of Tyler Crowley inside his battered truck.

It wasn't long before teachers started pouring out of the school buildings in order to see what had happened. Sirens could already be heard in the distance, so I assumed it wouldn't be long before Edward and Bella could be taken out of there (along with Tyler, of course). People gathering around the vehicles were surprised to see Edward along with Bella, especially those who had witnessed the accident, though none of them commented on it. Alice came out of the school a few moments later, leading Jasper and Emmet, who looked less than pleased by Edward's course of action. They came to stand by my side and we waited together for people to be able to pull the van away from the two trapped there.

"I'm so going to kill him for this," Jasper hissed angrily, glaring at Edward in disapproval as he calmly talked to Bella from behind the blue van.

Finally humans were able to shift Tyler's car far enough for the EMT's to get to Bella and Edward with their stretchers. We could've definitely helped and have it done faster, but, after Edward's slip, it wouldn't have been a very wise thing to do. A few minutes later, Bella was on a stretcher with a neck brace on her, flushing with embarrassment, if I may add, while Edward talked coolly to another EMT, who tried to persuade him to allow them to treat him. After Edward dissuaded the man of it, I recognized a dent on Bella's truck that suspiciously appeared to have the exact shape of Edward's shoulders. Making sure no one was focusing on that particular part of the truck, I used my powers and willed the metal to return to its original shape. No one but Edward and the others beside me noticed the car fixing itself, and the first gave me a thankful nod.

_I'll make sure nothing else is out of place,_ I though, knowing he would recognize my mental promise. Edward nodded one last time before climbing into the front seat of the ambulance, much to Bella's annoyance.

"Let's go inside," Jasper commanded somberly. Both his and Emmett's expressions were stony, letting me know they were pissed off at Edward's decision to interfere. Alice, on the other hand, was too lost in the future for me to recognize any particular emotion she might've been feeling. As for myself, I was aware that Edward's actions could've uncovered all of us, but it was something he _had_ to do. "Something will have to be done about this."

"What do you mean?" I asked naïvely, really not suspecting what he might've meant by that.

"We have to get rid of the girl," he clarified. "She saw too much."

A growl built in the back of my throat when I realized where Jasper was headed with that. There was no way he would kill Bella, even if she had seen enough to know what we were. Neither Edward nor Carlisle would allow him to do it and, if I had to be honest, I would fight against my own brother if it came to it. Esme would surely side with Carlisle, and I thoroughly doubted she would like the thought of an innocent human being killed just because she saw something she was not supposed to. I didn't know about Alice, but she would surely side with whoever won according to her visions. I knew both Sarah and Patrick would be a part of the decision, as they were vampires and lived in Forks too. Knowing about their pasts, I was completely positive they wouldn't care at all about Bella's life, as it was nothing to them.

But what about Emmett? If it came to it, would he side with Jasper and go against me?

"I won't let you," I seethed menacingly, directly at Jasper before turning away from him.

I made my way towards the school buildings after taking another glance at the accident site, to make sure everything was alright and nothing that could suggest the involvement of a supernatural being was left behind. I didn't look back at the three vampires left standing behind me and, instead, went into English alone for the first time in the whole year, as I had always had Bella with me before. I only hoped she would still be there the rest of the year…

**A/N: I'm so so so sorry I took so long to update when I promised I wouldn't. I had an awful case of writer's block and I couldn't seem to get past it! I usually don't use this as an excuse, but this time it's completely true, I promise. Anyway, next chapter will bring family issues with it! Want to know who Emmett sides with? Then you'll have to review to get the chapter faster! Thanks to everyone who took their time and reviewed the last chapter! You guys rock! xoxo**


	16. Unexpected Love Confessions

Chapter 15: Unexpected Love Confessions

School that day went awfully slowly. I didn't talk to any of the Cullens nor made eye contact with them. I even decided to skip lunch so I wouldn't have to sit at our usual table and face their speculative glances. Not even Emmett was able to get me to speak to him, though he kept trying to make me look at him.

I ended up feeling guilty about ignoring Emmett, though. I wasn't pissed at him at all, it was Jasper the one who would receive the full extent of my anger, but I just needed time to think about what I was willing to do when the time came. Would I go against Jasper, Sarah, Patrick and possibly Alice in order to defend a girl I had only met a couple of months ago? Would I be ready to fight my blood family and those who had been at my side for over a century to make sure an innocent human wasn't killed just because? Would things develop into a fight in the first place? And, most importantly, which side would Emmett choose?

However, so I wouldn't feel as guilty as I already did, I managed to sneak a peek at Emmett during our Trig lesson together and give him a small smile, so that he would know I wasn't holding a grudge against him. His relieved expression and blinding smile in return caused me to feel even more at fault, for making him upset. Poor Emmett… how was I so lucky to get him in the first place, I would never know.

As the final bell of the day rang and I changed out of my gym outfit, I let out a deep sigh. Gym had been harder than any other day, as my bubbling fury at Jasper's determination to kill Bella was making it hard for me to avoid using my vampire speed and strength during class. I was aware that I would have to face Jasper and the rest, as all of us had arrived at school in Edward's Volvo, but I was ready for it and, besides, I was _almost_ completely sure Edward would take my side, as would Emmett.

As the human students piled out of the gymnasium, I managed to make out Edward's and Emmett's heads between the crowd leaving Spanish class, which was their last one. They were walking in silence, but that soon changed as I ran up to them.

"I'm sorry for acting like a bitch all day, Em," I apologized truthfully, giving him a quick peck on the cheek that went unnoticed by everyone except Edward.

He beamed at me, his killer smile making me want to snog him senseless. "No problem, Nic, just let me know you're not angry at me next time," he replied in his usual easy-going manner, placing a tender kiss on top of my head. I could practically feel Edward rolling his eyes behind me at the mushy love scene, and I had to stifle a laugh when Emmett turned to glare at him. "Shut it, Eddie boy."

"I didn't say anything," Edward countered, though I could tell he was trying to hold in a smile. _As if you didn't want to do that with Bella,_ I thought, smirking evilly when I heard his gasp behind me. _It's really obvious, you know. You should thank whoever is up there for Emmett and Jasper being so oblivious, or even _they_ would've realized something was up._

The rest of our walk to the car was done in complete silence and, when we reached it, we were met with more silence coming from Alice and Jasper. I could see Edward wincing at the mental reprimand Jasper was without doubt putting him through. Alice, on the other hand, was deep in thought, probably worried about the outcome of the whole situation.

We piled into the car and swiftly made our way back to the Cullen home. According to Alice, Carlisle had already phoned Sarah and Patrick, and they were there, waiting for us to arrive. In spite of the shortness of the journey, it felt as if it had taken ages for me.

I was seated in the back, right in between Emmett and Jasper, as Alice had claimed the front seat for herself. I found myself in a double problematic situation as, on the one hand, I had to avoid crossing eyes with Jasper, as I had been doing all day and, on the other, I had to hide my feelings for Emmett, which was turning out to be more complicated than I thought it would be, due to his proximity. I could tell he was having the same problem and was suddenly stuck by the thought that, unless we wanted Jasper to find out about us in a not-so-pretty way, it would be better for us to tell him as soon as the whole Bella problem was solved.

Alice, seeing my resolve in her visions, shifted slightly in her seat, enough to let me, and me alone, see her nod almost imperceptibly. Well, at least I already knew things wouldn't turn out too badly, as Alice would've told me if they would. I kept thinking about the best way to let Jasper know about Emmett and me all the way back from school, only realizing we were already there when Edward parked in the big garage of the house; next to Carlisle's Mercedes and Emmett's big jeep.

Silently, knowing the quiet wouldn't last for long, the five of us made out way to the dining room, which, given that vampires don't eat dinner, was only used for discussing important matters. For that purpose, it was furnished with a long oval mahogany table surrounded by chairs as, like Carlisle liked to say, In a group with such strong and disparate personalities, sometimes it was necessary to discuss things in a calm, seated manner, though I was sure the seating arrangement wouldn't be of much use against Jasper's cold reasoning, Patrick's stubbornness and Sarah's tantrums.

Everyone was already there: Carlisle at the eastern head of the room, with Esme right beside him, both of them holding hands on top of the table and wearing concerned and thoughtful expressions, and Sarah and Patrick on the other end of the table, looking unbelievably pissed. Letting out a sigh at the juxtaposition of their expressions, I soon realized the reason I was the leader of our small coven, despite Sarah's and Patrick's older ages and the way they behaved as the parents: they were too emotional, allowing themselves to lose their temper too easily.

Edward determinedly took his seat next to Carlisle, having Esme put her hand in his shoulder in an affectionate matter. I took a seat next to him with Emmett on my other side and next to Patrick, so as to let everyone know whose side I was taking. Jasper, after hesitating for a few moments, went to stand against the wall behind Sarah and Patrick, who he sensed as his best allies in the conflict to come. Alice, in a trance-like state due to her visions, took the empty seat in between Esme and Sarah, rubbing her forehead as if experiencing a headache. From the corner of my eye, I saw Jasper twitch uneasily; his need to make sure his mate was alright overpowering his determination only for a moment, but keeping his place in the end.

Next to me, Edward took a deep breath, knowing it was his responsibility to start debating the issue at hand. "I'm sorry," he began, fixing his gaze on Sarah and Patrick, after giving Carlisle a small glance. "I didn't mean to put any of you at risk. It was thoughtless, and I take full responsibility for my hasty action."

Sarah glared at him balefully. Here we go… "What do you mean, 'take full responsibility'? Are you going to fix it?" she asked, making it clear from the beginning what her position in the conflict was.

"Not the way you mean," he replied calmly, though I could tell he was working to keep his voice even and quiet. "I'm willing to leave now, if that makes things better."

"No," Esme murmured. "No, Edward."

He patted her hand in a comforting manner. "It's just a few years."

"Esme's right, though," Emmett said from my other side. "You can't go anywhere now. That would be the _opposite _of helpful. We have to know what people are thinking, now more than ever."

"Alice will catch anything major," he disagreed, clearly looking for excuses so as to be able to leave town. What was he so scared of?

Carlisle shook his head and spoke for the first time, his voice full of authority. "I think Emmett is right, Edward. The girl will be more likely to talk if you disappear. It's all of us leave, or none of us."

"She won't say anything," I said, voicing my opinion before Edward could. Sarah was building up to the explosion, and I wanted this fact out there first.

"Edward doesn't know her mind," Carlisle reminded me. "We can't be sure of that."

"She won't," Edward insisted. "Alice, back me up."

Alice stared up at him wearily. "I can't see what will happen if we just ignore this." She glanced at Sarah, Patrick and Jasper, who looked as convinced as they had from the start.

No, she couldn't see that future—not when the three of them were so decided against ignoring the incident and taking matters into their own hands, silencing Bella before she had the opportunity to speak.

Patrick's palm smacked down on the table with a loud bang. I was surprised he didn't break it in half with the strength of that blow. "We can't allow the human a chance to say anything. Carlisle, you _must _see that. Even if we decided to all disappear, it's not safe to leave stories behind us. We live so differently from the rest of our kind—you know there are those who would love an excuse to point fingers. We have to be more careful than anyone else!"

That was where the conversation took a sharp turn. That was the main part of our problem. Not what Bella could say or do against us, but what others would if they found out about us letting her live.

"We've left rumors behind us before," Edward pointed out.

"Just rumors and suspicions, Edward. Not eyewitnesses and evidence!" Sarah yelled, taking her mate's side.

"Evidence!" I scoffed. "I made sure myself no evidence was left in the accident site, so I think it's safe to say no one will make out anything more than a simple car crash of it."

But Jasper was nodding, his eyes hard.

"Sarah—" Carlisle began.

"Let me finish, Carlisle. It doesn't have to be any big production. The girl hit her head today. So maybe that injury turns out to be more serious that it looked." Sarah shrugged, as if what she was suggesting wasn't that serious. "Every mortal goes to sleep with the chance of never waking up. The others would expect us to clean up after ourselves. Technically, that would make it Edward's job, but this is obviously beyond him. Most of us are capable of control. I, for instance, would leave no evidence behind me."

"Yes, Sarah, we already know how proficient an assassin you are," I snarled, my anger at my vampire almost mum growing with every passing second. "Especially at murdering those who have done nothing to wrong you."

She hissed at me, furious, while Patrick said nothing about it, but threw me a pointed glance. Out of all of us, Sarah had been the one who had had the hardest time adapting to the vegetarian lifestyle. I had overlooked those incidents, knowing they were merely slips and that she was trying her best, but I wouldn't allow her to get away with killing someone at cold blood.

"Nicole, Sarah, please," Carlisle said, trying to reinstate peace. Then he turned to Sarah. "Sarah, I won't pretend to know all the things you three went through before getting here. But this is not the same situation that most vampires face in their lives. The Swan girl is an innocent."

"It's not personal, Carlisle," Sarah said through her teeth, furious at being scolded by both Carlisle and me. "It's to protect us all."

There was a brief moment of silence while Carlisle thought through his answer. When he nodded, Sarah's eyes lit up. She should have known better. Even when I wasn't able to read his thoughts, I could have anticipated his next words. Carlisle would have never compromised in such a situation.

"I know you mean well, Sarah, as do you, Patrick, but…I'd like very much for our family to be _worth _protecting. The occasional…accident or lapse in control is a regrettable part of who we are." At that, I threw Sarah and Patrick a pointed glance. "To murder a blameless child in cold blood is another thing entirely. I believe the risk she presents, whether she speaks her suspicions or not, is nothing to the greater risk. If we make exceptions to protect ourselves, we risk something much more important. We risk losing the essence of who we are."

I controlled my expression very carefully and I could tell Edward was trying to do the same. It wouldn't do at all to grin. Or to applaud, as I wished I could.

Patrick scowled, as did his mate. "It's just being responsible," he argued.

"It's being callous," I corrected gently, not liking the tension among the three of us. "Every life is precious and worth saving."

Sarah sighed heavily and her lower lip pouted out, but gave me a curt nod to let me know everything would be fine between us. Patrick patted her shoulder.

"It'll be fine, Sarah," he encouraged in a low voice.

"The question," Carlisle continued, "is whether we should move on?"

"No," Sarah moaned like a three-year-old throwing a tantrum. Great… "We just got settled. I don't want to start looking for another job, house and town again! And everyone would have to pretend to be younger again!"

"You could all keep your present ages, of course," Carlisle said.

"And have to move again that much sooner?" she countered.

Carlisle shrugged.

"I _like _it here! There's so little sun, we get to be almost _normal_," she whined, though I had to agree with her on that. Forks was really a nice place for vampires to settle.

"Well, we certainly don't have to decide now," I suggested. "We don't even know if it'll be necessary. Edward and I are both certain Bella won't say a thing about the accident and then we wouldn't have to move at all."

Sarah snorted and Patrick rolled his eyes. But I was no longer worried about them. I could see that they would go along with my decision in the end, not matter how infuriated they were with me. They trusted me and loved me, and would do nothing that they thought would hurt me.

What bothered me was that, as the conversation moved on to unimportant details, Jasper remained unmoved. I understood why. Much like Sarah, Patrick and I had done, he'd lived in a combat zone, a relentless theater of war. He knew the consequences of flouting the rules—he'd seen the grisly aftermath with his own eyes.

It said much that he had not tried to calm Rosalie down with his extra faculties, nor did he now try to rile her up. He was holding himself aloof from this discussion—above it.

"Jasper," Edward said, his thought going the same way mine were. He met both our gazes, his face expressionless. "She won't pay for my mistake. I won't allow that."

"She benefits from it, then?" he asked, dangerously calm. "She should have died today, Edward. I would only set that right."

I repeated myself, emphasizing each word. "I will not allow it."

"Me neither," Edward added.

His eyebrows shot up. He wasn't expecting this—he hadn't imagined that I would act to stop him. He had probably thought I would back up on my determination.

He shook his head once. "I won't let Alice or you live in danger, even a slight danger, Nicole. Neither you, nor Edward feel about anyone the way I feel about her and you haven't lived through what I've lived through, whether you've seen my memories or not. You don't understand."

"I understand more than what you think," I said confidently, not breaking my staring contest with Jasper, though I could feel Emmett's eyes on me. Jasper simply raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

"I'm not disputing that, Jasper," Edward piped in, distracting my brother from my cryptic comment. "But I'm telling you now, I won't allow you to hurt Isabella Swan."

They stared at each other—not glaring, but measuring the opposition.

"Jazz," Alice said, interrupting them.

He held Edward's for a moment more, and then looked at her. "Don't bother telling me you can protect yourself, Alice. I already know that. I've still got to—"

"That's not what I'm going say," Alice interrupted. "I was going to ask you for a favor."

After reading something on Alice's mind, Edward's mouth fell open with an audible gasp. I stared at him, warily, only vaguely aware that everyone besides Alice and Jasper was doing the same thing I was.

"I know you love me. Thanks. But I would really appreciate it if you didn't try to kill Bella," Alice began. "First of all, Edward's serious and I don't want you two fighting. Secondly, she's my friend. At least, she's _going _to be. And she already is Nikki's friend, and you wouldn't want to hurt her, would you?"

"But…Alice…" Jasper gasped. I tore my gaze away from Edward's stunned expression, to see that Jasper's face held as much shock as Edward's.

"I'm going to love her someday, Jazz," Alice continued as I smiled at her power of persuasion. "I'll be very put out with you if you don't let her be."

Jasper still seemed to hesitate and, deciding I had to do something as well, I spoke up. "I would never forgive you if you did something like that, Jasper," I added.

That was it. Jasper's expression turned into resignation and Alice's concentration broke for the first time during our meeting. "Ah," she sighed—his indecision had cleared a new future. "See? Bella's not going to say anything. There's nothing to worry about."

"Alice," Edwar choked. "What…does this…?"

"I told you there was a change coming. I don't know, Edward." But she locked her jaw, and everyone could see that there was more to it. She was clearly trying to keep something from Edward and, due to his frustrated expression, I could tell that, whatever it was, it was big.

"What, Alice? What are you hiding?"

I heard Emmett grumble next to me and I had to swallow my urge to giggle. Even after having known him for less than a month, I could tell patience wasn't one of his biggest assets and, not being able to understand Alice's and Edward's conversation made him immensely frustrated.

"Is it about the girl?" Edward demanded. "Is it about Bella?"

Alice had her teeth gritted in concentration, but when Bella's name was spoken, she seemed to slip.

"NO!" Edward shouted, horrified at something only he could see. I heard his chair hit the floor, and watched as he hurried to his feet.

"Edward!" Carlisle was on his feet, too, his arm on his shoulder. I was barely aware of what they were doing; thinking it best to focus on Alice if I wanted to know what was going on.

"It's solidifying," Alice whispered. "Every minute you're more decided. There're really only two ways left for her. It's one or the other, Edward."

It was then that realization hit me; Edward had probably seen what Alice and I had been able to tell before he came to the conclusion. He loved Bella and, one day, she would become a part of his life.

"No," he said again, clearly in denial, bracing himself against the table for support.

"Will somebody _please _let the rest of us in on the mystery?" Emmett complained.

"I have to leave," he whispered to Alice, ignoring him.

"Edward, we've already been over that," Emmett said loudly. "That's the best way to start the girl talking. Besides, if you take off, we won't know for sure if she's talking or not. You have to stay and deal with this."

"I don't see you going anywhere, Edward," Alice told him. "I don't know if you _can _leave anymore."

"I don't hear that," Edward contradicted Alice, probably about something she was thinking, still only halfway aware of his audience. "Why are you doing this to me?" he groaned, as his sister's drilling went on. "Love her, _too?_" he finally whispered, incredulous.

"Love her?" Emmett whispered in my ear, wondering if I was as lost as he was. I simply smiled brightly at him and urged him to pay attention.

Edward was shaking his head, horrified. "No. I don't have to follow that course. I'll leave. I _will _change the future."

"You can try," Alice said, her voice skeptical.

"Oh, _come on_!" Emmett bellowed.

"Pay attention," I whispered at him, not wanting to miss any of it. "Alice sees him falling for Bella!"

"What?" Emmett said, startled. Then his booming laugh echoed through the room, joined by Patrick's, as Sarah sighed at their immatureness. "Is that what's been going on?" He laughed again. "Tough break, Edward."

He patted Edward's shoulder in support, but he shook it off absently. He was far too preoccupied to pay attention to him.

"_Fall _for a human?" Esme repeated in a stunned voice. "For the girl he saved today? Fall in _love _with her?"

"Yep," I replied, smiling brightly at Esme's confusion.

"What do you see, Alice? Exactly," Jasper demanded.

She turned toward him as Edward continued to stare numbly at the side of her face.

"It all depends on whether he is strong enough or not. Either he'll kill her himself" —she turned to meet his gaze again, glaring— "which would _really _irritate me, Edward, not to mention what it would do to _you_—" she faced Jasper again, "or she'll be one of us someday."

Sarah gasped; things had clearly gotten too out of hand for her.

"That's not going to happen!" Edward was shouting again. "Either one!"

Alice didn't seem to hear him. "It all depends," she repeated. "He may be just strong enough not to kill her—but it will be close. It will take an amazing amount of control," she mused. "More even than Carlisle has. He may be _just _strong enough… The only thing he's not strong enough to do is stay away from her. That's a lost cause."

Edward looked like a fish out of the water, unable to find his voice as he opened and closed his mouth in surprise. No one else seemed to be able to either. The room was still and silent.

I glanced at Alice and she winked at me, while everyone else stared at Edward, who had a horrified expression on his face.

After a long moment, Carlisle sighed.

"Well, this…complicates things."

"I'll say," Emmett agreed. His voice was still close to laughter. Trust Emmett to find the joke in what could turn out to be an extremely dangerous situation.

"I suppose the plans remain the same, though," Carlisle said thoughtfully. "We'll stay, and watch. Obviously, no one will…hurt the girl."

"No," Jasper said quietly. "I can agree to that. If Alice sees only two ways—"

"No!" Edward's voice was not a shout or a growl or a cry of despair, but some combination of the three. "No!"

He stalked out of the room, unable to cope with everything going on around him. Esme touched his arm as he passed, but he didn't acknowledge the gesture. A few seconds later, we all heard him run out of the house.

"That was… unexpected," Patrick finally let out, a dumb smile still lingering on his and Emmett's faces. Men…

"Talking about unexpected," Jasper said, turning to me. "Don't think I've forgotten that little comment of yours."

I gulped audibly and turned to Alice, who smiled and nodded encouragingly at me. Looking at Emmett, I realized he had been doing the same thing I was, and he nodded as well, coming to stand beside me.

"Well… err… you see…" I stuttered, not knowing how to begin. Earth, swallow me!

"Nikki and I are dating," Emmett's voice came from my side, his tone carefree and not wavering in the slightest bit. I had to give it to him, the guy certainly had balls to face my brother like that.

"What!" Jasper shouted, though more out of shock than anger as the rest of the room, except Alice of course, widened their eyes at Emmett's sudden confession. "You mean… you two… my sister… what… how?" he finally managed to make out.

"It just… happened," I said, utterly embarrassed and not wanting to let out the details of what had happened between Emmett and me to Jasper and Patrick, who both looked ready to dismember my boyfriend. Wow… calling him that sure sounds weird…

Alice and Esme looked ecstatic, and Sarah and Carlisle looked fairly happy, though confused and awestruck. Two in a row… it had to be some kind of record for unexpected love confessions in that house. Jasper and Patrick, though, were fuming.

"You mean to say," Patrick finally spoke, though the words seemed choked in his mouth, "that _you_ are dating _him_?"

"Yes," I said without hesitation, looking up at Emmett's face as he smiled at me and took my hand in a tender gesture that made me want to cry.

"And _you_ are dating my _sister_?" Jasper managed to ask Emmett.

"Yes," he replied, much like I had done and gazing lovingly at me.

"Okay, this is too much for me, I need to get some fresh air," Patrick said as he ran out of the house, followed by an excited Sarah, who only stopped to give me a tight hug before running after him.

"And you and I need to talk," Jasper said to Emmett, fixing him with a threatening glance.

"Jazzy…" I trailed off, not wanting him and Emmett to get into a fight.

"I just want to talk, I promise," he assured me, raising his hand in an innocent gesture.

"I don't mind, Nik, it's fine," Emmett added before looking at Jasper. "Lead the way."

With that, the two vampires left the house, leaving me with two eager women and a slowly retreating Carlisle. "I'll be in my study if you need me," he said quickly before rushing up the stairs.

"Don't leave me!" I pleaded, as Esme and Alice circled up on me, like predators stalking their prey.

"Now, now, Nikki," Alice began. "We're family now… it's time for a little girl talk…"

"Noooooo!" I dramatically shouted before being dragged upstairs and into Alice's room for what I assumed would be a long, long time.

**A/N: I'm so sorry for the long wait! I've been plagued with exams and author's block has been killing me! I just hope the length of the chapter makes up for all the time I took to update! You should all thank my beta ****Kelsey Short**** for constantly bugging me so I would write… I don't know what I would do without her! And, for those who want to know what happened with Rosalie, you should review and tell me if you want to know next chapter, or if you don't mind waiting for the sequel to see what I had originally planned for her! As always, constructive criticism is amazingly helpful and flames will be used to burn any Jonas Brothers' CDs! xoxo **


	17. Jealousy Goes Both Ways

Chapter 16: Jealousy Goes Both Ways

**A/N: A special thanks to ****Ivac38****, ****Twilightno1fan2009****, ****WittyPenNamesROverrated****, ****Princess Mishawaka****, ****bethanyhopeless**** and, of course, my wonderful beta ****Kelsey Short**** for reviewing my last chapter! This chapter is dedicated to her, lol! She should know why XD**

A few days had passed since the accident and things were back to normal; or, at least, as normal as they could be considering I was a vampire, had a vampire family and was dating a hot vampire. Yeah, Emmett and I were, from that moment onwards, an official couple for all intent and purposes. Having informed Jasper of our relationship clearly had a few advantages. For instance, we didn't have to hide our feelings towards each other any longer, though, when things got a little heated up, it would be totally uncomfortable for Jasper, who, due to his gift, could feel our lust and desire.

On one occasion, for instance, Emmett and I were making out in his room. What had started as an innocent kiss had soon turned into something much more passionate as his cold tongue glided across my lips, which immediately parted to grant him entrance. At the same time, I had been stepping backwards into a wall, as his body followed every step mine took, and I had soon found myself with my back being pressed against the wall, and Emmett's huge, muscular chest flushed to my own.

I had pressed myself into him even more, groaning when I had felt his erection against my thigh and getting even more worked up about the whole thing. My head had been spinning by the time Emmett's hands had made their way up to my butt, lifting me up with ease and causing me to envelope his waist with my legs, which made my throbbing core come in contact with his erection, driving me to the brink of insanity.

I was completely sure things would've developed into something more, had the rest of the family not chosen to return from their hunting trip so soon, bringing Jasper with them. Of course, being the overprotective older brother he was, he had to ruin all the fun for me having shouted, as soon as he felt our emotions: "Hey! Knock it off you two!" To say the least, he had completely killed off the mood, putting an end to our private encounter.

Another problem I had to deal with had been Bella's hurt when she realized Edward had started to ignore her after the accident. On our first day back to school after the car crash, and during our gym lesson at the end of the day, Bella had talked to me, telling me all about Edward's lack of response when she talked to him and the way that made her feel.

"He sat to me as far as the table would allow," she had told me, with her big, brown eyes reflecting all the pain I was sure she was feeling, despite not having the power to sense it like Jasper did. "I tried to be polite and greet him, as he didn't even turn to look at me when I took my seat, but he didn't answer or looked my way, so I stopped talking to him and now I'm really confused. First he saves me and then he doesn't even acknowledge my existence! I don't get him."

"You just have to give him time, Bella," I had replied. "I think he's just confused; he doesn't know how to feel about you and he needs time to make his mind."

"He doesn't have feelings for me," Bella had gasped, trying to seem outraged but being betrayed by an obvious blush in her cheeks. "I think he's just regretting having saved me that day."

It had been my turn to be angry. "Bella!" I had scolded her. "How could you possibly think something like that? I know Edward and I'm sure he wouldn't once regret having saved you from being crushed to death! He may be cold sometimes, but he's not cruel."

"I'm so sorry, Nikki," she had hurried to apologize as we were making our way out of the gym and towards the parking lot. "I forgot he was your friend too…"

"Look, Bella, it's alright, okay?" I had told her truthfully, but impatiently at her never ending self-esteem issues. "But you need to stop doubting yourself. Edward likes you and he just needs time to realize that himself, so please just drop your self-esteem issues for a while. Trust me with this. It's the only thing I'm actually good at."

And, having said that, I had given Bella a suggestive wink and swiftly made my way back towards Emmett's Jeep, which he had began to take to school so that we could, at least have some time to ourselves.

A few days had passed since that conversation and, at the moment, though, I was sitting through Biology with Alice by my side, waiting for the bell that would indicate the beginning of lunch period and, therefore, would allow me to spend some more time with Emmett. I was dozing off, as it usually happened to me in that class. What use was it for me to pay attention when Mr. Banner explained the internal workings of the heart when I already had a couple of degrees in Medicine?

I was snapped out of my thoughts, though, when Alice elbowed me in the ribs, causing me to almost jump out of my seat.

"What?" I hissed, knowing that, had I been human, my heart would be going a 100 mph after the scare she had put me through.

"The bell is about to ring," she said and I thanked whoever was up there for his great timing. "As soon as it does, you need to go find Emmett outside of the gym building, or things will get pretty ugly."

"What do you-?" I began to ask, but the bell started ringing at that exact time, drowning out the rest of my words.

"Go!" Alice urged me, pushing me out of my seat as she placed my messenger bag with my books in my hands.

Frowning in confusion, I thought it best to follow her instructions, so I briskly walked up to the gym building, ignoring the usual looks of lust I was receiving from boys going to the cafeteria and from girls, jealous I was dating one of the school mayor hotties. I laughed internally at the humans' evident emotions, but my merriness was cut short as soon as my eyes took in the scene going on in front of the gymnasium.

Emmett was pinned against the wall, but not by a superhumanly strong being, but a couple of slutty cheerleaders surrounding him and batting their eyelashes as if they had dirt in their eyes. My anger increased when one of them, who I assumed was the leader of the squad, due to her confident pose and the way the other three seemed to worship the ground she stepped on, ran her hand across Emmett's chest in a seductive way.

_She's so going down,_ my brain maliciously whispered to me and I couldn't help but agree with it. Emmett was mine and there was no fucking way in hell I would allow those filthy whores to touch him.

"Excuse me," I said in my best innocent-but-dangerous tone, causing the four girls plus Emmett to look my way, the latter seeming relieved whilst the other four appeared to be utterly pissed off.

"Yes?" the head slut – sorry, cheerleader – asked, having the nerve to sound offended, as if I had interrupted something of vital importance.

I inhaled deeply, urging myself to calm down before I got out of control and caused some serious damage to the girl, though it would be nothing compared to the mental problems she already had. "That's my boyfriend you're touching," I informed quickly, narrowing my eyes at the defiant pose of the girl. She clearly had nerve! "If I were you, I'd take my hands off of him and refrain from touching him in the future, unless you want him to be the last things you lay your hands on."

She seemed to be scared by my threat, though she only let it show for one second, before the hesitant expression in her face was replaced with a smirk. "Really?" she asked as she turned to face me, turning her back to Emmett. "I didn't hear him complaining about having a girlfriend."

Smiling sweetly, I took a step forwards, causing her to take a step back in panic. I laughed at her fear as I walked up to Emmett's side, bumping the bitch's shoulder with mine, though not with enough strength to cause her too much damage. As soon as I took my place by his side, Emmett's well-built arms sneaked around my tiny waist, holding me tenderly.

"Well, hear me then," I advised her. "Stay. Away. From. Emmett. Got it?"

"Or what?" she asked in defiance, as her minions stood behind her, clearly frightened by my threatening stance.

I imitated her smirk, so as to let her know I wasn't playing. "Then I'm going to rip that fake nose daddy bought you and pull that fake blonde hair out of your head," I said sweetly, watching the truth behind my words finally sink in her brain as the fear I had been longing for finally appeared as she gulped and gaped in fright. "Now run off before I change my mind about letting you go unharmed after touching _my_ boyfriend."

In less than a second, the four girls had made their way out of our sight and into the cafeteria, leaving Emmett and me standing outside by ourselves. I didn't notice he was enjoying the whole situation until his chest shook with laughter behind my back. I turned around with a glare, causing his mirth to die out instantly. I was planning to make a good laugh out of him.

"What's so funny?" I asked, glaring evilly at him while, on the inside, I wanted to giggle at his sudden change of mood.

"Um… nothing," he replied swiftly, obviously scared of my furious look. "It's just that you look pretty hot when you're mad…"

"Really?" I continued, narrowing my eyes further and trying hard not to smile. "So you think you can let a group of sluts get all touchy with you when you have a _girlfriend_ and that everything would be alright just by saying I'm hot?"

"I didn't let them, they practically threw themselves at me!" he protested, widening his eyes at my fake anger. "And let me tell you, those girls are more frightening than Alice during her shopping sprees!"

At that comparison, I couldn't hold it off any longer, and I finally burst out in uncontrolled laughter. What would have Alice said at being compared with a group of horny cheerleaders? Emmett's expression gradually turned from scared, to confused, to understanding and, finally, to pissed. Oh boy, he had realized I was just playing with him…

"You little-" he began, trying to grab me around the waist with his arms, but I stepped out of his reach, still laughing hard.

"Oh God, th-that was so fu-funny!" I managed to stutter in between my laughter. "You should've totally seen your face! I guess you're not so intimidating anymore, hot stuff!"

"Yeah, yeah," he shrugged it off, "just laugh at the poor, innocent guy."

"Oh, Em, I seriously doubt you've actually ever been innocent," I teased, shaking my head slightly, trying to get rid of the smile still etched across my face. He pouted sexily, before grabbing me by the waist and pulling me flush against him as he wriggled his eyebrows suggestively. "See what I mean?"

"You love it," he said before leaning down to place a hot kiss on my lips. A shiver went through my spine as his mouth moved away from mine and towards my neck, leaving a hot trail behind it. I actually had to stifle a moan when his teeth grazed my earlobe. That boy was definitely going to kill me someday. "I was thinking…" he trailed off as he placed wet kisses on my collarbone. "Maybe we could continue this somewhere more… private."

"You want to skip?" I asked, biting my lip to stop myself from letting out a contented sigh as his arms tightened around me. God, I loved the feeling I got when he held me; like I belonged between his arms; like, after all the years moving from one place to another, I was finally home.

"I want to spend some quality time with the hottest girl in the world," he answered, finally having his lips break contact with my skin and looking right into my eyes. "Don't you want to be alone with your handsome boyfriend for a whole afternoon?"

"Tempting…" I purred, pouting sexily and running my hand down his chest just to tease him a little bit. I got the effect I had been hoping for as he sucked in a breath, his eyes darkening with desire. Hell, he was right where I wanted him to be… "But your family's waiting for us at the cafeteria and I'm sure Jasper would go looking for us if we both suddenly went MIA."

With that, I grabbed his hand and pulled him inside the building where most people were already enjoying their lunch. As soon as they saw us walking their way, the three vampires' expressions changed. Alice looked as if she was trying to hold in her laughter, while Jasper was totally oblivious as to what was going on. It was Edward's look, of longing, pain and determination that completely saddened me. He was still ignoring Bella and, as much as she hated his indifference, her suffering was nothing compared to his.

"Hey guys, what's up?" I asked as we took our usual seats in the table, Emmett still looking clueless as to how things turned out the way they did.

"Nothing much, but Bella's going to stare at Edward in a minute. Look normal," Alice said, and the others were careful to fidget and shift their weight like humans; absolute stillness was a marker of our kind. I took Emmett's hand in mine and gave him an encouraging squeeze.

I had realized where we would have headed, had I chosen to do as he proposed and skip class with him but, would I have been ready for it? I knew it was probably stupid: a vampire of over a hundred years old being afraid of intimacy, but I felt that, after the trauma I went through with Kevin, I wanted to be sure about Emmett before I gave myself to him. The question there was: was I actually sure of Emmett?

Sure, he was a great kisser, and every time we weren't making out we talked about us: our human lives, the things we like, what we hated and every topic we could possibly think of. But, did I really felt something more other than just attraction towards him? I liked him, that was for sure, but could things turn out to be something more than just a crush? Could I really come to love him one day? What was more important, how did he feel about me?

"Stay out of it, Alice," Edward's voice said, bringing me out of my thoughts. "It's not going to happen."

I knew what he was talking about. Ever since he had heard of it, Edward had been dead set on preventing Alice's visions from coming true. He had been fighting against himself to avoid falling for Bella and, though everyone could see he was failing miserably and would have to surrender to his feelings sooner or later, he was making a good fight out of it.

"It makes plenty of sense to me," Alice snorted in reply.

"She's right, you know," I piped in. "The only thing you'll accomplish by ignoring her will be to hurt both yourself and her."

"She's fine," he quickly denied, as if he wanted to believe what he was saying.

"And how would you know?" I snapped angrily. "You haven't spoken to her in weeks. I, on the other hand, talk to her every chance I get and trust me, she's everything but fine."

"She will be fine, eventually," he persisted, to which both Alice and I rolled our eyes. Really, he could be even more stubborn than me, and that was definitely saying something. "She's going to go to that dance coming up soon with Mike Newton and she'll forget I even exist. End of the story."

"That's bullshit Edward, and you know it," Emmett finally spoke. "Look, dude, if you love her, you have to go for it, or you might end up missing on something truly amazing. Trust me; I know what I'm talking about."

I think my mouth had fallen open in shock at Emmett's sage words, as had everyone else's at the table. As he uttered his little speech, Emmett's eyes stayed focused on mine, letting me know the answer to my mental question from a couple of seconds ago. I was sure of Emmett and he was sure of us. That was all I needed to know.

Giving in to my urges, I leant forward and placed a tender kiss on his mouth, sighing in contentment when I felt the smile on his lips as he responded to my kiss. Maybe I was kissing my boyfriend in front of my brother, inside a cafeteria filled with humans who were most likely looking at us and inside a school building, but honestly, I couldn't care less. At that moment, it was as if the whole world disappeared, and it was just me and Emmett, and whatever was going on between us. Maybe it was just a crush, maybe it was something more and maybe, just maybe, it was meant to be but, right then, we were just Emmett and Nicole, two beings that, despite being dead, were feeling alive for the first time in a long time, and I was planning to make the best out of it.

"I know it's a girl's choice dance," Emmett whispered, his lips still slightly touching mine, "but would you be my date for it?"

"Of course, hot stuff," I replied, giving him a chaste kiss, but getting up when I heard the bell ringing in the background. "Come on, we have Spanish and Señora Goff will be pissed if we're late to her class."

"Alright, alright," he huffed jokingly as he got up and took my hand, ignoring the whipping sounds Jasper was making. All the positive emotions coming from Emmett and me surely got him in a good mood; otherwise, he would've been bitching at us for kissing in front of him. He and Alice were smiling at us while they too held hands, but Edward was nowhere to be seen.

"He left to his Biology class," Alice said in reply to my unasked question. "I think he was eager to see Bella."

"He's just jealous," Jasper informed. "With the dance coming up, he's going to have to put up with boys asking this girl to the dance, which he's completely envious about."

"Well," I began, remembering that awful feeling I had experienced when my eyes had taken in the scene of Emmett being cornered by the cheerleading squad, "I guess jealousy goes both ways."

"Damn right it does," Emmett hissed as he placed his arm around my waist in a possessive manner while glaring daggers at a group of boys that had the nerve to stare at me in a lustful way while he was right beside me.

**A/N: So like it? Hate it? Please let me know! Oh, and just like I did in this chapter, the next one will have a special thanks for those who review! So just waste five seconds of your day to say hi to me ****xoxo**


	18. Finding Love

Chapter 17: Finding Love

"And then he just said I knew nothing!" Bella fumed angrily as we changed out of our gym outfits. "How dare he do that?"

At first sight, one would say Bella was shy and insecure, but I was proud to say I had somehow managed to change her into a more tolerable type of friend, at least while she was around me alone. I doubted I would have been able to stand her if her self-esteem issues were going to come up in every single conversation we had, but she had surprised me in that sense. I mean, she was still innocent, sweet Bella, but she was not afraid to voice her thoughts and feelings to me and she never mentioned her idea that she wasn't good enough to catch Edward's attention again.

"So? What did you tell him?" I asked, impatiently rolling my eyes at her childish anger. Well, maybe it wasn't so childish, but when you were a vampire age tends to get somewhat distorted.

"I just walked away," she shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant, though I could tell her conversation with Edward was bothering her more than she showed. "But, with my luck, I _had_ to trip and all my books fell to the floor and, of course, he helped me get them and I had to thank him or I would've looked really impolite and –"

"Got it!" I laughed, interrupting her angry rambling. We were walking out of the gym building and my sharp eyes had already caught sight of Emmett, standing next to Edward and his Volvo in the parking lot. "Look, I really got to go, but I can call your house later so we can talk more about it, okay?"

"Sure, sure," Bella replied, smiling shyly and heading towards her truck. "See you tomorrow!"

"Bye!" I said in farewell, eagerly walking towards my hot boyfriend and his brother. "Hey Eddie boy! What's up with you and Bella, huh?"

He clearly ignored my suggestive smirk and, instead, kept his gaze fixed on Bella's truck, where Eric Yorkie was waiting for my dark-haired friend's arrival. "Wait for the others here, alright?" were the only words Edward managed to utter before hurrying towards the area of the lot where Bella's truck was parked.

"What's up with him?" Emmett asked as he tucked me into his strong arms, kissing the top of my head.

"Not a mind reader, remember?" I reminded him, laughing at his pouty mouth, which I had a huge urge to kiss, which I did.

"Yeah, but you're a girl," he whined, though his pouting had been replaced by a sexy smile after the peck I gave him. "Shouldn't you know about these things?"

"Probably…" I trailed off, shrugging and smirking mischievously when I caught sight of Bella's horrified face as Eric asked her to go to the dance with him, "but where would be the fun in that?"

Emmett chuckled, clearly having seen the same thing I did. "That's my girl," he whispered seductively into my ear, causing me to have to suppress a shiver. I couldn't hold in a contented sigh, though, when he kissed my earlobe tenderly, his arms holding me across the waist tightly so that my back was leaning against his chest. "Wanna get out of here?"

Sweeping my gaze across the lot, I realized neither Jasper nor Alice were in sight and that Edward was too consumed on watching Bella, meaning it would be a while before we could actually leave the school building if we waited for the rest of the Cullens. Besides, if we did wait for Jasper, Alice and Edward to leave with us, my dearest brother would make sure Emmett and I weren't left by ourselves. "Hell yes," I replied, taking Emmett by the hand and walking with him at a human pace towards the forest surrounding the school, breaking into a sprint the moment we were out of the view of any human. "Let's head towards my place," I suggested, leading the way with Emmett's hand still tightly held in mine, which none of us was complaining about.

We reached the house in record time and, seeing that Sarah and Patrick were still out, probably at work or hunting, Emmett and I hurried inside and into my room, where we were less likely to be bothered by anyone. We dropped simultaneously onto my bed, laughing widely and sending each other fleeting glances.

"Jasper will flip when he realizes we're gone," Emmett managed to say in between his laughter, causing me to chuckle even harder.

"I wouldn't laugh so much if I were you mister," I playfully scolded him. "After all, you're the one he's going to want to kill when he finds out we ran off."

"I can deal with little, ol' Jazzy," Emmett said confidently, flashing his perfect, white teeth in a beautiful smile that made me want to jump him. Gosh, since when did I become a horny teenager? I was almost 150 years-old for crying out loud! He must've sensed the direction my thoughts were going to as, too fast for me to notice what he was doing, Emmett had pulled me into the comfort of his embrace, planting a soft kiss on the top of my head.

Staying in that position with Emmett put things into perspective for me. I confess I had been thinking about our relationship a lot since his suggestive proposal to skip school and 'spend some quality time together', and enjoying that moment with him, in silence and basking on the feeling of his arms around my body gave me the perfect opportunity to think things through.

Emmett was everything I could've asked for someone like myself: playful, laidback and mischievous as opposed to my usual snappy and sarcastic self. I tended to push people away, to detach myself from everything I didn't want to feel, from people who had the potential of becoming close to me. There were little things I feared in life. Being a powerful and practically indestructible being made me realize nothing could physically hurt me. But, if I had to be honest with myself, I was an emotional chicken.

Yeah, I appeared to be alright on the outside, always smiling and never complaining about anything (except when I had to attend school for the twentieth time in my life), but that wasn't really me, or, at least, who I used to be. I had hidden myself so deeply and masked my real emotions so well it was hard to make a difference between the Nikki everyone saw and the one I really was. I had been so guarded over the years I doubted even Sarah or Patrick, who had been with me for the best part of the past 100 years, knew the real me.

But somehow, without me even noticing, I had been slowly coming out of my shell and letting the real me show. Maybe it was Jasper, who brought back memories of my life and the way I used to be; maybe it was Bella, who resembled Lizzie so much I couldn't help but act like I used to when I was with her; or maybe it was Emmett, with his ever-present smiles and easy-going nature, which only contributed to allow my real personality to shine through. Whichever the cause, those three people had caused a change inside of me, and I was eternally thankful for that.

And Emmett… how could I not be myself when I was with him? He had restored a hope in me I thought was lost forever: to love and be loved. Until I met him, I had been sure I could never open up again, especially to a man, not after Kevin. But Emmett had proved me wrong. Unknown to me, he had become my friend and confidant; the one man who wasn't my brother I could trust and, not surprisingly, I had soon realized my feelings for him were less than platonic.

I closed my eyes, focusing on the questions swirling around my head. Did I like him? Hell yeah. Was I falling for him? Definitely. Was I in love with him already? Not so sure. Would I allow myself to? That was the quid of the question.

After everything I had to go through, could I really take that final step? I had already trusted Emmett with my heart and, until then, he had made a good job of keeping it out of harm's way. But could I take that final leap of faith that was necessary before the fall? Would I let myself fall, knowing once I did there was no turning back?

Well, while remaining motionless in his arms, staring into his honest, golden eyes from time to time, I found the answer to that question. Yes. I wanted Emmett to love me and I wanted to love him back. I wanted our relationship to work out and us to have the rest of eternity to spend together, much like Jasper and Alice had. I wanted to give myself the chance to be finally happy and I knew, deep in my still heart, that Emmett could make me happy.

"Nik?" a low, soothing voice asked to my ear. "What are you thinking so much about?"

Opening my eyes, I wasn't shocked to find his face inches from mine, his eyes sparkling with that beauty only Emmett's had, so warm, so caring, so honest. Timidly, I reached out to trace his strong jaw-line with my fingers, noticing how slender and delicate they looked in comparison to Emmett's rough but gentle hands on my waist. He closed his eyes in return, a content smile spreading across his face, letting me know I wasn't the only one who was falling.

"Nothing serious," I replied, taking my time to fully appreciate Emmett's handsome features. "Just about how much I want this to work out between us."

His eyes snapped open, a look I had never seen in his face before. Not lust, or need, or longing… _love_. It was the first time someone had looked at me in that way, romantically, and I would've ran out of breath, if I had had the need to breathe. It was just so intense, and perfect, knowing that you mean so much to someone, that you had changed someone's life for the better and that it would never be the same again if you weren't there. It was everything I had ever hoped for.

"This will work out," he said, confidence filling his voice. "Even if I have to give my life, I will make sure this works. You know why? Because I love you, Nicole."

I froze, staring into his eyes, trying to avoid falling into their depths so I could tell him how I felt. "I love you too," I finally managed to say, tears that would never fall prickling the corner of my eyes.

"That's good to know," he smiled, tightening his hold on my waist and pulling me to him, crashing his lips against mine in a tender, but passionate kiss.

Maybe I had no parents, maybe my best friend had been killed before my eyes, maybe I had been practically raped by an obsessive vampire, but all I had suffered, all the pain I had to go through in my life meant nothing, _nothing_ compared to the bliss that filled me at that moment. Because, despite all the bad times and all the years that passed, I had finally found love.

**A/N: So, I know it's really short and it's up later than I promised it would be, but I wanted it to be a special chapter, dedicated entirely to Nikki's and Emmett's relationship. Shout outs to: ****blondieluver612****, ****WittyPenNamesROverrated****, ****Psycadelic and Company**** and, as usual, ****Kelsey-Short****! BTW, this chapter is dedicated to my lovely boyfriend Patrick and based on a real life situation between the both of us... ****Review!**


	19. Undercover Mission

Chapter 18: Undercover Mission

**A/N: Shout outs to ****Kelsey Short****, ****FleurSuoh****, ****BloodshedGal****, ****Spark10111****, ****WittyPenNamesROverrated**** and ****cinders001**** for being the only ones out of the over 200 people who read my last chapter to leave me a review… you keep me going!**

Days passed and Edward had somehow managed to land himself a date with Bella. I didn't have the faintest idea of how he did that, as Bella, after the Tyler asking her to the dance incident, was not one of Edward's biggest fans. To be quite honest, I wasn't too thrilled with Eddie boy myself, at least not after he started hogging Bella during lunch time and even after and before school, leaving me and Alice – who wanted to get to know her – without too much time to spend with her.

What had us truly concerned was that, as much as we were sure Bella wasn't completely sure of exactly what we were – though I probably shouldn't include myself in that, seeing that, because of the differences in my eyes and skin Bella had no reason to believe I was like the Cullens – she was getting fairly close to the truth. She had these theory-thingies which, even though they were a long shot from the truth as all the girl could think about were radioactive spiders and other comic book stuff, they let us know she was onto something.

However, the dangerous stuff came not from what she could think about by herself, but from what others could tell her; in particular, how much those mutts in the Indian Reservation were willing to blabber about. Yeah, I had been told about the dog-blood running around La Push and the treaty the Cullens had made with them. Much to Edward's dismay, Bella had been invited by her human friends on a trip to the beach and, if anyone there had heard about the Quilete legends, we were in deep shit. Angela, who sometimes talked to me when I decided to sit by Bella and, consequently, with her group of friends during lunch, had invited me to join them and, not wanting to be impolite to such a sweet girl, I told her I'd think about it, though I knew I wouldn't end up going anyway.

Friday morning, before Edward, who decided he needed some boy time with _my_ boyfriend, dragged Emmett of to hunt somewhere and while I was allowing Alice to play Barbie doll with me once again, Edward decided to approach me.

"Nikki?" he asked hesitantly, noticing my rather sour expression as Alice played tug-o-war with my already perfect hair.

"What's up, lover boy?" I smirked, though it came off as more of a grimace as the little pixie had chosen that particular moment to almost rip my scalp off.

"I have a favor to ask of you," he said, sighing as if he was about to confess to Alice about having burnt her entire wardrobe. "If I had done something like that I would've already fled for my life."

"Stay out of my head, Eddie boy," I warned, not liking the fact he could read me that easily.

"I don't like it either," he said, angering me further, as he was making a comment on something I was _thinking_. "Alright, alright, I'll try to stop doing it."

"Good, now what do you want?" I asked, curious as to what had him so nervous.

"I need you to look after Bella while I'm out," he blurted out, though I could tell that wasn't everything he wanted to say, as it wasn't that bad. "And that includes her visit to La Push."

"You're kidding, right?" I snorted and even Alice stopped working on my hair to glance questioningly at her brother. "You want me to become dog chow or something?"

"There are no more werewolves in La Push, they should be dead by now," he argued while Alice's eyes glazed over and she lost herself in one of her visions. "Your appearance is not average, I'll give you that, but even if there's someone there who knows about us there's no reason why they should believe you're not a hundred percent human. I already talked about it to Carlisle and he said everything should be fine as long as you don't do anything stupid."

"Sun will be out on Saturday," Alice informed as she drew out of her vision.

"I can handle the sun, I could take down those mutts if it came to it and I'm not Emmett, thank you very much," I assured both her and Edward, though I still was somewhat hesitant about it. "You want me to make sure no one tells Bella about the legends?"

Edward seemed to consider that for a moment and I knew what the problem was: Bella would have to find out about us sooner or later, but the problem was if he was willing to take that step already or not. Letting go of the curling iron which she had been using on my hair, Alice gave her brother a leveled glance.

"It's time, Edward," she told him. "You can't keep her in the dark forever and this time is as good as any other."

He nodded thoughtfully before returning his eyes to me. "Just… just make sure she doesn't drown or fall of a cliff, okay?"

"No problem, Eddie boy," I agreed, standing up with the intention of leaving Alice's torture room to see Emmett before he left.

Probably guessing my intentions, Edward said: "Emmett's in his room. We're leaving in five."

The rest of the day flew by as I allowed myself to daydream about the make out session I had with Emmett before he left, though I snapped out of my own personal La La Land for a couple of minutes to let Bella, Angela and the other humans know I'd be joining them on their beach trip the following day. Soon enough, Saturday morning came and I was readying myself for the day out with the humans. My human disguise was already in place, as were my anti-sparkle shield, my white, strapless bikini and yellow sundress and flip flops to complete the outfit.

I wasn't too eager to spend a whole day away from the people I had come to consider my family because, even though Emmett was gone with Edward and Alice had become a pain in my butt with her constant make-over sessions, the prospect of having to deal with humans of the like of Mike Newton wasn't too appealing. Alice, always the one to see the bright side of things, reminded me it would be a good way to spend time with Bella away from Edward and I could see that she was wishing she could the same thing, so I decided not to complain too much.

"Alright, you're all set up," Alice said approvingly as she finished doing my hair into a messy bun which, according to her, went perfectly with the beach girl outfit.

"I don't know what's with all the dress up, Alice," I complained, placing a few side bangs behind my ear so they wouldn't bother me. "It's not like I'm trying to impress anyone or something."

"You have to play the part if you want any Quilete you encounter to believe you're human, Nikki," Alice explained with a weary sigh before becoming once more her usual self. "You should get going now; Bella's going to be ready and waiting in four minutes."

The previous day at school, Bella and I had arranged for me to pick her up at her house so that we would arrive at the Newton's Olympic Outfitters together. Granted, I was going to take my car; God only knows what would happen to us if I attempted to get Bella on my motorcycle and I intended to keep my promise to Edward to keep Bella safe.

"See you when I get back," I greeted Alice with a smile before jumping off her window and landing on the garage's roof. Not that I couldn't have used the front door, but where would the fun be in that? I got into my Corvette, smirking after hearing Alice whining that I would ruin my outfit even before I got there.

I picked up Bella at her house and the two of us made it to the Newton's store in between Bella's remarks as regards my speeding and her awe at seeing my car. When we reached the parking lot where everyone else was, all the heads turned to stare at my car though, when they saw me getting out of the driver's seat their questions must've explained themselves. After my flashy arrival the first day I went to Forks High, almost all the student body realized that, much like the Cullens, I had enough money to afford whichever car I chose, so it wasn't quite an interesting topic for gossip any longer.

Everyone I knew was already there, including the three cheerbitches that had had the nerve to try and seduce _my_ Emmett the other day. The one I threatened noticed our arrival and gave both Bella and I dirty looks before whispering something to that girl whose name was Lisa – or maybe Laura? – making her eye Bella with scorn.

"What's her problem?" I whispered to my dark-haired friend as we approached the group.

"Who? Lauren?" Right, that was her name. "Or the other girl?"

"Both."

"Well, Lauren hates me since forever, though I don't know why," she replied. "And I fell on top of the other girl yesterday during gym, so now she hates me."

I narrowed my eyes and was about to walk up to those girls and slap them or something, but Newton chose that exact moment to come towards us, grinning like a child on Christmas day. I wouldn't have been surprised to see a tail sprout out of his butt just so that he could wave it like the good little Golden Retriever he was.

I ended up being driven to La Push in Newton's car, something I thought would make Edward happy given that, as I was in the same car as Bella and, with her luck, she could cause a car wreck all by herself, I would be able to keep an eye on her. The downside to it, though was that, due to the lack of space in the car for all of us, I was forced to sit on a guy's lap and even when I was nothing short of annoyed about it I could feel the guy's… _excitement_, which made me even less happy about the seating arrangement.

However, all those thoughts flew out of my head as soon as I set my eyes on the landscape that was First Beach. The water was dark gray, even in the sunlight, white-capped and heaving to the gray, rocky shore. Islands rose out of the steel harbor waters with sheer cliff sides, reaching to uneven summits, and crowned with austere, soaring firs. The beach had only a thin border of actual sand at the water's edge, after which it grew into millions of large, smooth stones that looked uniformly gray from a distance, but close up were every shade a stone could be: terra-cotta, sea green, lavender, blue gray, dull gold. The tide line was strewn with huge driftwood trees, bleached bone white in the salt waves, some piled together against the edge of the forest fringe, some lying solitary, just out of reach of the waves.

Getting out of Newton's SUV, we picked our way down to the beach, the blond golden retriever leading the way to a ring of driftwood logs that had obviously been used for parties like ours before. There was a fire circle already in place, filled with black ashes. Eric and a boy I thought was named Ben gathered broken branches of driftwood from the drier piles against the forest edge, and soon had a teepee-shaped construction built atop the old cinders.

I sat down next to Bella while she and Mike talked about something, trying my best to ignore the lustful glances of the boy whose lap I had sit on during the car ride. I had to keep my focus so as not to go right up to him and erase that wannabe sexy smirk off his face with a punch that would have all his teeth flying around, telling myself the Quiletes would have a hard time believing I was human if I pulled a stunt like that right below their noses.

"Nikki? Nikki!"

"Huh?" I asked, shaking my head to pull away from the satisfying image of ripping that guy's member off.

"I asked you if you were coming hiking with us," Bella said, repeating something she had probably said about ten times already. Looking around, I realized the only person I didn't like who was going on that hike was Newton and, as opposite as to the cheerbitches and the creeper who was still staring at me, I could deal with him without having to stop myself from slamming his body against a rock.

"Sure," I agreed as both of us got up and joined the pro-hiking group. Yay!

The hike itself wasn't too long, though, and I spent most of it watching over Bella and making sure she didn't trip on anything; even her own two feet. When we reached the tidal pools I hooked my arm around Bella's, so that I would be able to pull her up in the case she leant too far to look into the ocean ponds. Sitting on a stable-looking rock we found on the fringe of one of the largest ponds, Bella and I amused ourselves by gazing into the depths of the water and the creatures dwelling in it.

"So, have you heard from Emmett yet?" she asked casually, trying to mask her interest of finding out Edward.

"He's fine," I shrugged nonchalantly before an evil smirk made its way onto my face. "Edward, on the other hand got attacked by a grizzly."

"What? Is he okay?" she snapped, looking quite desperate and concerned until she realized I was laughing silently at her. "And you're just teasing me."

"I can't help myself, you make it really easy," I said apologetically, though I wasn't the smallest bit sorry. Having Bella around turned out to be a definitely good way of entertainment. She shoved me and I pretended to be affected by it so that she wouldn't get hurt.

"Shut up," she huffed.

I laughed good naturedly and got up once more as the boys were getting hungry and already wanted to head back. In her eagerness to avoid falling behind, Bella tripped more than one time and would've landed on her face a couple of times if I hadn't been there to pull her straight.

When we got back to First Beach I noticed the thing I'd been both expecting and fearing since Edward had asked me to go with Bella had already happened: our group had increased due to the newly arrived Indian teenagers, coming to socialize with Forks' students. All of them looked pretty much the same: copper skin, black hair and dark eyes, exactly as Carlisle remembered Ephraim Black and the rest of his pack to be.

Humans ate, I pretended to munch on my food so as not to look suspicious and then made it disappear inside my mouth, Eric – who the hell appointed him as the social counselor over there, I'd never know – introduced us to the Quilete people and one of their own did the same for them. My vampire brain registered all those names for me, even though I was sure I'd never make use of them; there was a Jacob, an Embry, a Quil, a Jessica, a Sarah, a Leah, a Mina and the guy who was speaking, whose name was Sam.

As people started drifting off, I engaged Lee and Drew, two guys from Forks High who were luckily not obsessed over me, in a polite conversation while, at the same time, I kept an eye – and an ear – on Bella. The boy whose name was Jacob decided to take my place besides her and start chatting with her about easy topics. It was all going well until that Lauren slut decided to open her big, fat mouth.

"Bella, I was just saying to Tyler that it was too bad none of the Cullens could come out today. Didn't anyone think to invite them?" she asked with such fake concern in her voice I was sure not even Bella could be fooled by it. As much as I prayed for her to ignore my presence, she didn't. "Didn't you ask Emmett to join us, Nicole?"

"You mean Dr. Carlisle Cullen's family?" the older boy named Sam asked before either Bella or I could respond, much to the fake blonde's irritation.

"Yes, do you know them?" she asked condescendingly, turning halfway toward him as if the answer didn't even interest her. Of course it didn't, she was just looking to get a rise out of Bella or me.

"The Cullens don't come here," he said in a tone that closed the subject, ignoring her question, though I could see him steal a glance at me from the corner of his eye. I tried my best to look as if I wasn't bothered by it and he must've bought my act for he said nothing further about the topic.

I tried to mask my concern as I continued my earlier conversation with the two guys when Bella decided to suddenly go all Nikita on that Jacob dude, seducing him – as lame as she actually was at it – so that he would tell her about the Cullens and the legends. I knew I was treading a dangerous path as I pondered whether or not I should let her find out, but I ended up deciding it would be for the best.

"So, your name is Nicole, right?" a deep voice asked from behind me, one which I immediately recognized as belonging to the guy who spoke in behalf of the Quilete kids.

"Yeah, and you were… Cam?" I asked, trying to appear human with the whole forgetting names and all.

"Sam," he corrected with a small smile, which allowed me to know he didn't think I actually was a 'cold one' as Jacob called them.

"Sorry, I'm terrible with names," I lied apologetically, wincing as Tyler called Lee and Drew and they left me alone with the potential wolf dude.

"It's alright," he said before his expression turned serious. "So, you know Emmett Cullen?"

"Yeah, we go to school together," I replied, trying to seem unconcerned when, in reality, my heart would be pounding in my chest if it was capable of beating in the first place.

"So, you're dating him or something?" he asked with a frown causing me to become paralyzed for a second. What was I supposed to tell the guy? If I lied and he found out by any of the groupies that had come to the beach trip I would be in deep shit, but I wouldn't be in less trouble if I told the truth.

"I don't see how that's any of your business," I hissed, thanking God for the first time for having created such a pathetic individual like Mike Newton who was conveniently dragging Bella back towards us, with the excuse of having to return before it rained.

I walked around Sam and joined Bella, crawling next to her on the backseat of Newton's Suburban before the guy realized I had escaped his interrogation. As Bella remained lost in her thoughts, ones probably resolving around vampires and the Cullens, I contented myself with imagining how I would kick Edward's butt for making me go on that shitty, undercover mission of his.

**A/N: … Okay, I really have no excuse for how long I took, so I'm just gonna shut up! Anyway, I wanted you guys to know all the waiting in between chapters was for a good cause. I finally graduated High School, was the top of my class, got accepted into a great university and scored 41 points in my IB diploma! I know it's stupid, but I wouldn't have managed to do all this without the escape that writing provides once in a while, so I want to thank all of you for reading my stories! Hope you liked this chapter! Review! xoxo**


	20. My Never Dull Life

Chapter 19: My Never Dull Life

**A/N: I'd say I've been a bad author for not having updated in such a long time, but I spent most of my holidays drinking and partying so much I wouldn't have been able to write anything that made sense anyway so… Anyhow I'd like to thank ****moani-sama****, ****AllyWeasley91****, ****WittyPenNamesROverrated****, ****FleurSuoh****, ****cinders001****, ****Spark10111**** and, as always, the amazing ****Kelsey-Short****. You should check out her new story "Three Months Ago"! It's amazing! So, on with the chapter and please review **

"I thought you said you wouldn't be back until Wednesday," I frowned, smiling lightly when Emmett picked me up in his tight grip so that he could kiss me without having to lean down.

"Aren't you glad I'm back earlier?" he asked with a small pout, giving me his best puppy eyes, which I must confess I was a sucker for. He had climbed through the balcony of my room, instead of just walking in like I did in his house, so I guessed he must've been feeling rather romantic.

He had already set me down on the floor, so I had to stand on my tiptoes and pull his face down to mine so I could kiss him. "Of course I am," I said, pecking his lips one more time; kissing Emmett was something that never grew old.

Just as I thought, though, a simple kiss wasn't enough for Emmett and, softly caging my face between his hands, he leaned to place his lips on mine once more. I responded eagerly, not even hesitating to open my mouth the moment his tongue brushed against my lips, seeking for entrance. I giggled happily as he pushed me against my bed, causing the two of us to fall onto it, him hovering above me, placing small butterfly kisses along my neck.

"And I'm glad dear old Eddie decided to cut our trip short so that he could stalk his human," Emmett mumbled against my collarbone before I pulled his lips against mine once more.

"I should probably tell him about Bella's weekend," I sighed, realizing I would have to get up from the more than comfortable position I was in. It was roughly four in the morning on Monday, so I would have had to get up eventually so that I could get ready for school.

Emmett groaned, sliding his nose against my jaw line as I ran my hands through his already messy hair. "No," he protested, slurring his words like a whiny child. "We should stay here all day, just you and me; no Eddie boy, no Bella and definitely no Alice."

"That sounds tempting," I purred, gliding my hands down to his shoulders and pressing a few kisses there over the thin cloth of his shirt. I could feel his smile against my neck as he thought he had convinced me and, smirking evilly, I pushed him off of me so that he was lying on his back and hurried to straddle his waist. I nibbled gently at his earlobe as I leaned down onto him, supporting my weight with my hands pressed against his firm chest, causing Emmett to grunt in approval. "But I have school in a few hours."

Emmett groaned as I jumped to my feet. "You're such a tease," he whined, making me laugh at his childish protests.

"And you love me anyway," I smiled, winking at him before going into my wardrobe to pull out some clothing.

"That I do," he agreed, hurrying behind me as he hugged my waist and kissed my cheek gently, before turning serious once more. "I love you."

I turned around in his arms, so I could face him and he could see the sincerity and love shining in my eyes. "And I love you," I replied, pecking him in the mouth softly before pushing him out of my walk-in closet and shutting the door so I could get dressed in the dark blue skinny ripped jeans and the button-up white shirt I had picked.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you," his voice spoke from outside the closet, "Jasper's friends, Peter and Charlotte were arriving today and they are supposed to stay for a couple of days, you wanna go see if you can meet them before you have to leave for school?"

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" I freaked as I pulled on a pair of black Jimmy Choo's that Alice had bought as a present for me in one of her last shopping sprees, which I had refused to be dragged into. "Come on, I want to meet them!"

I ran out of the closet and, hastily grabbing Emmett's hand, dragged him downstairs and into the house's garage. I would've preferred to run, but I knew it would've been rather suspicious if I had arrived at school by foot instead of one of my extravagant vehicles. He chuckled at my impatience as I levitated my bike's keys into my hand and hurried to start the engine. "Eager much?"

"Shut up and sit," I growled, opening the garage's door with my powers as I was too antsy to look for the remote. Emmett's booming laughter echoed through the room as he took his place behind me and barely managed to grab onto my waist before I had the bike zooming down the road to the Cullen's house.

"Have I ever told you how sexy you look when you're driving this bike?" he whispered seductively in my ear, causing me to have to repress a shiver. Unfortunately, he caught on to it and appeared to be rather smug about it as he ran his lips down the hollow where my shoulder met my neck over and over. "And when you're angry as well…"

"How about when I push you down my bike while still driving for distracting me?" I teased in a fake-sweet voice.

Emmett laughed boomingly as he always did. "That would be kind of a turn off," he admitted, hiding his face in my hair and taking a deep breath. "Have I ever told you how nice you smell?"

"No, that'd be weird," I giggled as he kissed my neck, tickling me and causing me to have to give a sharp turn to swerve a bump in the road I hadn't seen before because of Emmett's little games.

"Well, you do," he said. "A mixture of vanilla and lilies. You smell delightful."

"Okay, Romeo, cut your crap already, we're here," I teased as I stopped the bike at the entrance of the Cullen house, where a black Lexus was already parked. He pouted at my brushing him off, to which I responded with a quick kiss before getting off the bike and walking up to the house with Emmett's arm draped around my shoulders possessively.

He always did that when he was about to take me in front of people I had never met: I assumed it was a way for him to 'mark his territory' like dogs do without having to pee on me. It was sort of stupid, but sweet at the same time and I couldn't pester him about it, as I was quite jealous about Emmett myself.

When we got in, we caught sight of the Cullen clan, minus Edward – who was probably nurturing his creepy ways and watching Bella sleep – and Emmett – who was next to me, duh – surrounding a couple of the most similar vampires I had ever met. Both of them had long, pale-blond hair, red eyes, similar features and slim body-types, though the female was more on the short side, like Alice, while the male one's height was more like Jasper's. Having probably heard our arrival, their eyes were already on us and it didn't come as a shock that both nomads were appraising me in surprise and glancing between me and Jasper, probably studying our similarities.

"Peter, Lottie, I guess you remember Emmett, right?" Jasper finally asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had engulfed the room after our entrance.

"Of course we do," the male vampire replied, giving Emmett a curt nod in acknowledgement before his eyes returned to me once more. His mate did something similar, only adding a small smile when her gaze met Emmett's. "But we weren't aware that your coven had gained another member."

"It hasn't… technically at least," Carlisle spoke up, though he was quick to correct himself when he saw the hurt flashing through my eyes. "She's like another daughter to Esme and me," he said, making me beam with pride and love at his words as both he and Esme smiled lovingly at me, "but she's in fact the leader of another coven that happened to move to Forks this year."

"I'm Nicole," I politely introduced myself, still standing comfortably inside the protective cage provided by Emmett's strong arms. I threw Jasper a hesitant look while I did so, not knowing if he wanted his friends to know about us being relatives.

Apparently, though, he did. "Nikki is my blood-sister, as a matter of fact," he said from his spot next to Peter.

"And my mate," Emmett growled as a warning, not liking how Peter's eyes still hadn't left me. I elbowed him in the ribs, not liking the way he went all territorial on me when all Jasper's friend was feeling was curiosity and when he already had a mate he loved.

"How is that possible?" Charlotte asked in bewilderment, wisely ignoring Emmett's provocative comment and choosing to focus on my brother's words.

"I thought your sister was a human," Peter added, frowning in confusion. "At least she looks like one, though I can't hear her heart beat and she smells like one of us."

"I thought so too until I saw her walking into the school cafeteria a couple of months ago," Jasper confessed sharing a conspiratorially look with me before uttering his next words. "And she has the ability to change her appearance, so she makes herself look human to avoid attracting unwanted attention wherever she goes."

"If only that worked better…" Emmett sighed jokingly, kissing the top of my head and not making a comment about Jasper's explanation of my gift. Clearly it was something that had been previously discussed by the Cullens.

Both Peter and Charlotte chuckled softly at Emmett's comment and, luckily, didn't choose to delve further into the topic of my strange gift. "Those are truly wonderful news," Charlotte said amiably, smiling happily, which caused me to like her instantly.

"Congratulations, Jasper, I know how much you missed her when you thought she was dead," Peter said, patting my brother's back before turning towards Emmett and I with a pleasant expression, even when no smile adorned his face. If I had to guess, I would say he was a lot like Jasper in that sense, choosing to guard his emotions from others. "My name is Peter and this is my mate, Charlotte."

"It's a pleasure to meet both of you," I said truthfully. "And I don't know how it would be possible for me to thank you enough for saving my brother from his life with that disgusting skunk."

"You know Maria?" Charlotte asked with a frown. Next to her, Peter was wearing a calculating expression and had his eyes scanning my skin, looking for the scars every single vampire that participated in the south wars was bound to have.

"Not exactly," I acknowledged, "I –"

"She heard about her from me," Jasper was quick to interrupt and, behind Peter and Charlotte and next to Carlisle and Esme, Alice threw me a look that clearly said 'follow through with it'.

"Yeah, when I heard about what she did to all of you I wished I could kill her myself," I said, throwing Jasper a look that allowed him to know he owed me an explanation.

Tension vanished immediately when Peter and Charlotte began to laugh at my statement. "Good luck with that," he chuckled good-naturedly. "Someone like Maria would take your head off before you could even call her a bitch. I doubt even Jasper would be good enough to rid the world of her."

I wanted to tell him 'No need, I already have' so badly, at least so that he would stop underestimating me, but I refrained. I was aware that most vampires found it hard to think of me as a potential danger, especially when I was dressed in heels and a trendy outfit. Also, the fact that I was blonde and pretty (yeah, my self-esteem was just fine) caused people in general to consider me an empty-headed bimbo, who was afraid of a fight as much as breaking a nail.

Peter and Charlotte continued laughing at my expense for a few other moments but the Cullens, sensing it would earn them a good kick in their asses to do something like that, remained quiet. Emmett, ignoring my narrowed eyes and irritated expression, tightened his hold on me, probably considering it wise for him to have a good grip in me in case I lost my cool and decided to lung at Peter for even suggesting I couldn't deal with that bitch.

"I don't think you should think so lowly of her, Peter," my dark-haired boyfriend interrupted, standing up for me. God, I had never loved him as much as I did at that moment. "She's the leader of a whole coven, after all, so I'm not sure it's such a great idea."

"Yeah, man, stop being an ass to my little sister," Jasper said playfully, smacking Peter upside the head.

"I'm sorry about that," Charlotte apologized softly to me while she approached the place Emmett and I were standing, as her mate and my brother engaged themselves in a playful wrestling match with Esme scolding them about taking it outside.

"Don't worry about it," I shrugged it off with a smile, cuddling into Emmett's arms as I watched Peter and Jasper going at it in the Cullen's backyard.

"It's just that Peter would love to kill Maria one day for what she tried to do to me," Charlotte explained, coming to stand next to us. I saw Carlisle and Alice silently laughing at Esme's exasperation while dealing with Peter and Jasper. From the corner of my eye I saw Emmett eagerly watching the playful banter of the old friends and, though it was pretty obvious he wanted nothing more than to join them, he stood by my side, his arm still wrapped possessively around me.

"Em? You can go kick some southern butt if you want to, I don't mind," I assured him, pecking his cheek as a shit-eating grin appeared on his face.

"I'll dedicate my victory to you," he said, giving me a chaste kiss on the lips before following Peter and Jasper outside.

I rolled my eyes at his immatureness as he joined the fight, but couldn't help but chuckle at his childishness. Some may think Emmett acted too much like a kid – which he did… at least most of the time – but I found that particular quality oddly refreshing. I knew that vampires like Peter, Charlotte, Jasper and myself tended to be quite introverted and serious after everything we've been through in the southern wars and, although it was sometimes really exasperating, I loved the fact that Emmett's carefree nature allowed me to bring back a laidback part of me I thought had died a long time ago.

I was so caught in my fond thoughts of Emmett I barely noticed the small pixie I considered one of my best friends – as well as Bella, of course – coming to stand next to me as she too watched the guys having a go at each other.

"Edward will be here to change his clothes in four minutes," she informed, her eyes going blank for a second as she gazed into the future. "You will be able to give a brief report on Bella's weekend and still make it in time for school."

"Hope he doesn't flip when I tell him Bella should have a new theory closer to the truth," I muttered, not at all liking the idea of Edward getting all pissy and using my personal thoughts to get back at me.

"Don't worry, he will just – Don't you dare do what you're thinking of doing Emmett Cullen or I'll make sure Nikki doesn't let you lay a single hand on her for a month!" Alice screeched, interrupting the reassuring speech I was expecting from her. Her gaze had become unfocused once more and I knew she was having a vision of one of Emmett's troublesome ideas.

"I didn't do anything," he defended himself as he stepped into the house again, raising his hands in the air so as to somehow prove his innocence.

"Of course you didn't, but you were planning on turning the garden hose on us!" Alice said with a roll of her eyes, her hands on her tiny hips as she glared at Emmett. I, on the other hand, was pretty content to just lay back against the wall behind me and enjoy the fact that, for once, I wasn't the one in trouble.

"I just thought you and Nikki would look hot in soaking shirts," my perv of a boyfriend excused himself, winking at me before turning to face the wrath or Alice once more. "I know Jasper wouldn't mind the show either."

"What? Seeing my baby sister in a drenched white shirt?" Jasper asked as he too entered the living room with Peter in tow. Giggling at the playful banter between the adoptive siblings, Charlotte hurried to get into her mate's arms. "That'd be gross. And if you even imagine her that way, I'll rip Emmett Jr. out and burn it to ashes, got it?"

As it was usual for him, my brother looked as threatening as one could get but Emmett, as always, wasn't one to be intimidated by his threats or the perspective of losing his little soldier. "Dude, I don't have to imagine it," Emmett teased with another playful wink.

Unfortunately, that last flirtatious gesture was directed at Jasper as a way to tick him off and, for obvious reasons, it worked all too well. Growling in annoyance, Jasper made a leap for Emmett, which he, in turn, avoided as he ran out of the house and into the backyard, both his booming laughter and my enraged brother following after him.

I laughed at the scene thinking how, for all his childish behavior, one thing was certain: I would never get bored with Emmett around.

**A/N: Reviews make a happy author! A happy author is more inspired! A more inspired author writes faster! An author that writes faster updates sooner! (Got the hint yet?)**


	21. Calling Dibs

Chapter 20: Calling Dibs

Over the next couple of days which, unfortunately for Edward remained sunny, making it impossible for him to see Bella with her knowing he was nearby, I was forced to take the role of Bella's bodyguard during school hours. After the last bell of the day rung, Edward took over, following Bella to her house and staying there until morning. I only had one word for his behavior: creepy.

The rest of the family caught up to carrot-top's stalkerish tendencies and Emmett often bugged him about them, wanting his brother to join us, Peter and Charlotte on a baseball game he refused to attend, finding himself much too focused on his Bella watch. Of course, Eddie-boy ignored his family's attempts to get him to lay off the stalking and was out of the house even before I returned from school, or what had become what I like to call my Bella-watching shift.

Even though I seem quite bitter when I talk about it, I didn't dislike having to watch over my brunette friend during school time, as I shared some classes with her and enjoyed having lunch with her and her human friends. However, when Edward forced me to accept Angela's invitation to join her, Bella and Jessica for dress-shopping for the school dance coming up, I was less than pleased.

First of all, I wasn't Alice and, though I quite enjoyed the idea of buying clothes and spending the afternoon with a friend that wasn't enough to overshadow the fact that Jessica – one of the nicest girls I knew… not – was coming too. Eddie, though, in a move far too vicious for anything I could have imagined for him, threatened to spill to Jasper about Emmett's and my thoughts about each other – something that would be quite embarrassing and undesirable, not to mention it would have serious consequences for the guy I loved.

Therefore, Wednesday afternoon after school found me on the backseat of none other than Jessica Stanley's car next to Bella, who had just dropped her truck at her house.

To top things off, Alice had insisted on dressing me on a special outfit for the occasion which, as much as I loved, I ended up hating due to all the lustful stares I had received because of it. It wasn't too flashy or anything, but the combination of mid-thigh, high-heeled, black boots and a black and white sweater/dress certainly made my legs look impossibly long, drawing the stares from people standing at a mile radius. The pixie was quite lucky – lucky? Who was I kidding, she had probably predicted it – both Emmett and Jasper had been out hunting with Peter when I left for school, as they wouldn't have let me leave if they had seen what I had been forced to dress on.

Anyhow, the trip to Port Angeles had me planning my painful revenge on Eddie boy while I was forced to hear Jessica yammering on about her date with Newton and about how she reckoned they would've kissed by the time the dance was over. I swear I could feel a few IQ points dropping as I remained sitting in that car, listening to the half-assed whiny chords of songs some teenagers dared consider rock music. I mean, just because Kelly Clarkson's songs have a few guitar solos that are somewhat decent doesn't make her music rock. Ever heard of bands like Breaking Benjamin, Skillet or Paramore? Those make real rock music.

After what seemed like light years to me – see, I had already lost half of my intelligence because light years were definitely not a measure of time – we finally made it to the only department store in town and I was able to get out of that goddamn car. I was seriously considering running back to Forks to spare myself the torture of spending another hour in there for the returning trip.

I was pleasantly surprised though, when I found out the store in Port Angeles had a set of halfway decent clothes, so I amused myself by looking at them. Of course, Alice had had our designer dresses ordered for over a month and she had strictly forbidden me from buying anything from the store she had seen us visiting, but that didn't mean I couldn't look and maybe try something on. While we were looking out for dresses for Angela and Jessica, I halfheartedly listened to the conversation going on between the three teenage human girls.

"Didn't you ever go with a boyfriend or something?" Jessica asked dubiously as we walked through the front doors of the store, just after Bella had told them she had never been to a school dance before.

"Really," she tried to convince her, not looking quite comfortable with the turn the conversation had taken. "I've never had a boyfriend or anything close. I didn't go out much."

"Why not?" Jessica demanded nosily.

"Maybe because she didn't want one," I piped in, not even bothering to acknowledge the glare I could feel burning on the back of my head.

"No one asked me," Bella answered, shrugging honestly, a lame attempt to pacify her gossipy friend.

Jessica though, looked skeptical. "People ask you out here," she reminded her and I smirked thinking of how mad she would be if she ever found out Mike had intended to ask Bella to the dinner date she had been bragging about, "and you tell them no." We were in the juniors' section now, scanning the racks for dress-up clothes.

"Maybe she's got her eyes set on someone else," I clued, winking at a blushing Bella.

"Yeah, Tyler," Angela agreed with a laugh. Her words, though, made both Bella and me freeze in shock.

"Excuse me?" she gasped, clearly not as amused as I was by the confusion. "What did you say?"

"Tyler told everyone he's taking you to prom," Jessica informed with suspicious eyes, which were obviously directed at me as she probably didn't think Bella was witty enough to keep something juicy hidden from her.

"He said _what_?" Bella sounded like she was choking and I was worried for a second. Would Edward be mad at me if I let his girl die from suffocation by some shocking piece of news?

"I told you it wasn't true," Angela murmured to Jessica in a whisper, but my vamp ears picked up the words easily.

Bella was silent, still probably still trying to process what Angela was saying as her eyes slowly turned from shocked to annoyed. Tyler would be in for a world of pain when Eddie boy gets hold of that particular information.

"That's why Lauren doesn't like you," Jessica giggled while we pawed through the clothes.

"And how's that funny at all?" I coolly asked, raising an eyebrow in what I knew was a pretty intimidating gesture. The short girl immediately stopped laughing and returned her eyes to the clothes in front of her. Good, so I still had it.

"Do you think that if I ran him over with my truck he would stop feeling guilty about the accident? That he might give up on making amends and call it even?" Poor, clueless, Bella, still thinking that it would be weird for a guy to like her and want to take her to a dance just because of herself.

"Sure," I snickered. "_If _that's why he's doing this."

Luckily, both Jessica and Angela had managed to find a couple of dresses to try on by then and therefore went into the dressing room, leaving behind a slightly fuming Bella and an extremely amused me. Really, petty human little problems like those were nothing if not funny. They made me think about the problems I had faced when I had been human and, in comparison, dates to prom seemed nothing short of a joke.

I barely paid attention to the dress choice, though I did pull Angela away from an ivory dress that certainly didn't do well with her Forks' pale skin. As opposite to shopping trips led by Alice, both girls were fast to pick out the dresses they wanted to buy and they soon moved to the shoe section, where Jessica was fast to choose some silver shoes and leave Bella, Angela and I in favor of the jewelry section.

At the moment, Angela was trying on a pair of pink, strappy heels while I pondered whether or not Alice would berate me from buying – or rather rescuing – a pair of Prada peep-toe heels that had somehow found their way to that horrible department store. Bella seemed to be thinking intently about something, fidgeting with the corner of her jacket and sending Angela dubious glances.

"Angela?" she finally began, hesitantly while I decided to leave the shoes as it would not do having to drag a shopping bag with me around town.

"Yes?" Angela held her leg out, twisting her ankle to get a better view of the shoe.

"Those are nice," I complimented.

"Yeah, I totally like those," Bella added, chickening out from asking the question that had been rolling around her mind.

"I think I'll get them — though they'll never match anything but the one dress," Angela mused.

"Oh, go ahead — they're on sale," Bella encouraged while I nodded.

"Seriously, if you don't buy them I'll get them for you," I threatened, glancing disapprovingly at the unoriginal white shoes that had been her second choice.

Angela smiled and nodded, and I was grateful that she put the lid on the shoe box of that horrible pair of white heels. I meant it; I would rather die again than have a friend of mine wearing those awful shoes.

"Um, Angela…" Bella tried again, having Angela look up curiously at her.

"Is it normal for the…Cullens" she began, keeping her eyes away from me, "to be out of school a lot?" I could sense that she was trying to be nonchalant about it, but, being Bella, she failed miserably. I wondered, though, why she decided to ask Angela instead of me about the Cullens. After all, it was common knowledge among the population of Forks High that I was dating the gorgeous, perfect, dashing and – okay, I'm totally rambling – Emmett Cullen, so one would think I was the more qualified one on the subject.

"Yes, when the weather is good they go backpacking all the time — even the doctor.

They're all real outdoorsy," she told us quietly, examining her shoes. She didn't ask Bella one question, let alone the hundreds that Jessica would have unleashed. I was beginning to really like Angela.

"If you really need to know, though, Emmett told me they were visiting a couple of friends of theirs and that they would be back today," I added, smirking as I watched Bella blush furiously.

"Oh." She let the subject drop as Jessica returned to show us the rhinestone jewelry she'd found to match her silver shoes.

I had been quite annoyed when Alice had told me the girls' plans included having dinner somewhere in Port Angeles but, luckily for me, in a spur of the moment's decision that Alice couldn't have foreseen, Bella announced she wanted to look for a bookstore first, providing me with an excuse to postpone the horrible moment when I would have to pretend to eat. Naturally, I immediately told her I'd be glad to join her, arguing that I wanted to do some book-shopping of my own. She tried to feed me the same excuse she did with Angela and Jessica, but I dismissed her excuses, telling her I had a serious need to buy the newest Vampire Academy book – I know, totally ironic but hey, who could deny the hotness of a tall, dark guy with an accent? – and that she would be the one having to put up with my withdrawal symptoms if she refused to take me along with her.

So she agreed – reluctantly I might add, but I'd rather have a pissy Bella than a grumpy Eddie any day – and we started walking side by side, following the directions Jessica was kind enough to give us. She didn't talk much through the trip, but I was quick to say the word I knew she was thinking when we saw the bookstore Jessica had told us to go to.

"Shit." And it was really. I mean, was Jessica daft or something? Did she really think we could ever find some honest-to-God literature among all that voodoo stuff that plagued that shop? A person with an average brain-size could tell a book shop where the windows are full of crystals, dream-catchers, and books about spiritual healing would not be a good candidate to have any books a teenager would be interested in.

"Let's keep looking," Bella suggested. "There has to be a normal bookstore in this town."

I nodded in agreement and easily kept up with her fast pace as we headed towards downtown. I could tell there was something going on in Bella's mind and I realized that, whatever she was thinking about, it must've been pretty serious, as she barely paid attention as to where she was leading us. Of course, I didn't even bother to tell her we should turn around because, let's face it, a big, bad vampire such as myself could never be scared of anything looming in the human world; even if that something was around the horrible warehouse area Bella had unconsciously walked us to.

I could hear a couple of footsteps nearing our position and smell the mouthwatering scent of young human blood mixed with something definitely alcoholic but, for Bella, it must've been quite a surprise when a group of four men turned around the corner we were heading for, dressed too casually to be heading home from the office, but too grimy to be tourists. As they approached us, I realized they weren't too many years older than Bella was; in their mid-twenties at most. They were joking loudly among themselves, laughing raucously and punching each other's arms. Gripping my arm in hers, Bella scooted us as far to the inside of the sidewalk as she could to give them room, walking swiftly, looking past them to the corner. Her heartbeat increased dramatically and I could tell she was nervous about something, my best guess being those guys coming towards us who didn't appear to have noticed us yet.

"Hey, there!" one of them called as they passed, and he had to be talking to us since no one else was around – well hell, I had to jinx it didn't I? Bella snapped her head up automatically, but the guy who had spoken had his eyes glued to me. He was quite heavyset, though nothing compared to my Emmett and dark-haired, probably in his early-twenties and with an evil smirk in his face that would've given me the chills if I wasn't sure I could kick his ass to hell and back. He had paused as had one of his friends, the other two were slowing. He took half a step toward me with a leery sneer in his face.

"Get lost," I snapped, holding onto Bella to stop myself from going up to him and kicking him where it counted. Who knew how many defenseless girls like Bella and me – let's leave it at Bella – he had stalked upon and molested? The mere thought of that made my stomach turn and anger bubble in my veins.

"Come on Nikki," Bella whispered urgently, pulling me to walk faster towards the corner. I could hear them laughing at full volume behind us, a sound that made Bella's speed increase, if that was even possible.

"Hey, wait!" one of them called after us again, but, for the sake of Bella's mental health I kept my head down and rounded the corner with her, hearing a sigh of relief escape my friend's lips as soon as we were out of the guys' sight. I could still hear them chortling behind us and wondered why on earth didn't I turn back and showed them something worth laughing at.

Instead, I focused on our surroundings, where we found ourselves on a sidewalk leading past the backs of several somber-colored warehouses, each with large bay doors for unloading trucks, padlocked for the night. The south side of the street had no sidewalk, only a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire protecting some kind of engine parts storage yard. I had to admit that, for all the perks that came with being a vampire, an internal GPS wasn't included in the package and I had to admit that powerful or not, I could do nothing to change the fact we were utterly lost.

It was getting dark, I realized, the clouds finally returning, piling up on the western horizon, creating an early sunset. The eastern sky was still clear, but graying, shot through with streaks of pink and orange. It was now my turn to sigh in relief as I knew that nightfall provided the best occasion for Edward to put his stalk-Bella plan into action.

We had agreed before I left for school that morning that him and Emmett would make a visit to Port Angeles after 'returning' from the Cullen family 'trip' and that the three of us, along with Bella, would 'coincidentally' meet. I would say I wanted to spend some time with my boyfriend and then Emmett and I would take off, leaving Bella and Eddie-boy alone, hoping that their meeting would turn into a romantic stroll across town and whatever PG-stuff Edward found appropriate for a date. I suggested going for a snogging session in the backseat of his Volvo, but I think it wasn't Edward's cup of tea.

Anyway, if Edward and Emmett started looking for us now that the sunlight was gone they wouldn't take too long to find us, which meant we wouldn't be lost much longer.

I was snapped out of my thoughts, though, when I felt Bella shivering next to me. The temperature had gone down and Bella had left her jacket in Jessica's car and I, having been dressed by Alice, had no jacket of my own to offer her and I figured she wouldn't appreciate it very much if I gave her a hug or something a human might do. A single van passed us, and then the road was empty.

"Nikki?" Bella's voice shyly asked from besides me. I turned to look at her and saw her eyes were hard with a glint of determination, which usually meant she had made a decision about something, most likely whatever had been going inside her head for the whole day. "Can I ask you something without you freaking out?"

"Sure, as long as it doesn't involve us going for a threesome because I love Emmett and I'm not going to share him with you or anyone else," I teased with a playful wink, causing her to blush profusely.

"Oh, shut it," she spat, shoving my shoulder with her hand. Of course, I was ready for that kind of reaction and moved in the direction her hand was pushing me towards so that she wouldn't break her arm. I laughed at her frown, but immediately sobered up when I noticed her expression turning serious once more. "Actually, it is about you and Emmett."

"You dirty whore!" I shrieked, pretending not to know what her real question was about. I did know what she wanted to talk about and I wasn't quite sure if I was supposed to confirm her suspicions or not.

"Nicole!" Bella chastised motherly and that time I returned to business mode for real.

"Alright, alright, just spit it out, will you?" I required, not willing to see her fumbling around and looking for the right words to express herself. "No beating around the bush."

"Have you ever noticed anything weird about Emmett's, or for that matter any of the Cullens' behaviors?" she asked bluntly, flushing in embarrassment as I glanced at her, acknowledging her question.

"Weird in what way?" I inquired, hoping that she wasn't thinking what I thought she was. Yeah, maybe it would be a nice change having Bella know our secret and not having to pretend to be human while around her, but what if she didn't accept us? What if I lost her as a friend because she was too scared of what I was?

"Just random things like the too pale and cold skin, the changing eye-color, the lack of eating and the way no one ever sees them whenever it's sunny," she listed, causing me to wince slightly. Damn that girl was observant.

I sighed and pondered for a second about what to say to that. I couldn't exactly tell her I had noticed none of that because anyone being as close as I was to the Cullens would have had to see those things; but was I supposed to tell her that the story the Quilete guy had told her at the beach the other day was right and that not only the Cullens were vampires but I was too?

I opened my mouth to reply but the words died in my mouth as I heard the noises of two humans walking twenty or so feet behind us, something I should've realized sooner but was too distracted to process. The sky suddenly darkened further, and, as Bella looked over her shoulder to glare at the offending cloud, she realized with a shock what had taken me a few seconds less to notice.

Seeing her go paler than it was usual for her, I turned my head slightly so I could focus my gaze on the men behind us. They were from the same group we'd passed at the corner, though neither was the dark one who'd spoken to me. Bella quickened her pace and I followed, my mind already looking for the normal escape routes a normal human would think of. Of course, if it came to that, I would have to use my vampire abilities to defend Bella, but I was willing to cross that bridge only when I came to it. Bella shivered once more as her pulse, which had steadily become slower when we lost sight of the guys the first time, picked up again. She was clutching her purse, her grip on it so strong her knuckles had turned stark-white against the creamy tone of her hands.

I listened intently to their quiet footsteps, which were much too quiet when compared to the boisterous noise they'd been making earlier, and it didn't sound like they were speeding up, or getting any closer to us. I didn't relax, though. I didn't have to be a mind reader to know they were up to something and that they were following us for a reason, even if I didn't know what for. We continued to walk as quickly as we could without actually running, Bella focusing on the right-hand turn that was only a few yards away from us now. I heard the close sound of an engine running and, not a second later, a blue car turned onto the street from the south and drove quickly past us. For a moment, the idea that Edward and Emmett might have found us crossed my mind, but the sound of the car was too whiny to actually be one of the flawless and brand-new Cullen cars.

We reached the corner, but a swift glance revealed that it was only a blind drive to the back of another building. Bella forced me to half-turn; we had to hurriedly correct and dash across the narrow drive, back to the sidewalk. The street ended at the next corner, where there was a stop sign. I concentrated on the faint footsteps behind me, deciding whether or not to pick up Bella and make a run for it – yeah, that would certainly look human. They sounded farther back, though, and I knew they couldn't outrun me in any case. Besides, I had already decided that if Bella was at risk I would have to let go of my human façade and protect her. I risked a quick glance over my shoulder, and they were maybe forty feet back now. Bella, who had been looking at the exact same thing as me sighed with relief and forced a small smile to her face when our eyes met. However they were both staring at us with something akin to expectation, something that unsettled me for some reason.

It seemed to take us forever to get to the corner. Bella's steady pace was too slow for my overdriven nerves, but the men behind us falling ever so slightly farther behind with every step had a calming affect on me. I realized that nothing they did could hurt Bella as long as she was with me. I saw two cars going north pass the intersection we were heading for, and I heard Bella exhale in relief. There would be more people around once we got off this deserted street. We skipped around the corner with a grateful sigh. And skidded to a stop.

The street was lined on both sides by blank, doorless, windowless walls. I could see in the distance, two intersections down, streetlamps, cars, and more pedestrians, but they were all too far away. Because lounging against the western building, midway down the street, were the other two men from the group, both watching with excited smiles as both Bella and I froze dead on the sidewalk. I realized then that we weren't actually being followed. We were being herded.

_Well, hell. These guys are in for the ass-kicking of their lives, _I thought as I took a step forward, placing Bella's fragile human body behind mine.

She had frozen on the spot for only a second, but it felt like a very long time as I carefully studied the possibility of escaping anywhere.

"Come on, Nikki," Bella urged frantically, pulling me to turn with her as we darted to the other side of the road. I had a sinking feeling that it was a wasted attempt. The footsteps behind us were louder now.

"There you are!" The booming voice of the stocky, dark-haired man shattered the intense quiet and made Bella jump besides me. In the gathering darkness, it seemed like he was looking past us, but when I heard the other two heartbeats coming from behind us, I knew we weren't the ones they were talking to.

"Yeah," a voice called loudly from behind us, making Bella jump again as she tried to hurry us down the street. A quiet growl erupted in my throat when I laid eyes upon the predatory smile the leader's face was showing. _We'll see who's smiling when all of this is over._ "We just took a little detour."

Bella's steps had to slow now as she realized we were trapped. She was thinking about something as she grasped my forearm with her hand tightly, slipping her purse over her head and gripping the strap with the other.

"Stay close to me," I whispered to Bella, gently prying her hand from my arm so that I could defend us better.

The thickset man shrugged away from the wall as we warily came to a stop, and walked slowly into the street.

"Stay away from us," Bella warned in a voice that would've been more threatening if it had sounded strong and fearless, but that came out with no volume.

"Don't be like that, sugar," he called, and the raucous laughter started again behind us. Yeah, those guys would definitely suffer… "Hey guys, I call dibs on the blonde!"

The guy took another step towards us and that's when the shit hit the fan. Acting on instincts only, I pushed Bella so that she had her back against the wall and I crouched in front of her in a defensive position. "Unless you want to suffer a slow, painful death you should probably get out of my way, boy," I hissed, my eyes narrowing on their own accord and glowing fiercely with the hatred I felt towards those men.

The group of men didn't laugh that time around, probably because they had finally caught on with their guts feelings, which were probably warning them about me. Behind me, Bella sucked in a deep breath and I could practically see the wheels in her brain turning as she put the pieces together: the Cullens, the cold-ones legends and myself. The only one who seemed oblivious to the danger he was in was the leader guy.

"I think I can handle a feisty little thing such as yourself," he sneered, coming to stand only a couple of feet from us.

I bared my teeth and readied myself to jump at him when, all of a sudden and out of nowhere, headlights flew around the corner, the car almost hitting the stocky one, forcing him to jump back toward the sidewalk. Edward and Emmett had finally arrived and, let me tell you, they didn't look happy.

Bella dove into the road, probably hoping to make the driver stop. But Edward fishtailed his car around, skidding to a stop with the passenger door open just a few feet from where we were standing. Emmett jumped out of the backseat, running and standing next to me in a flash. Bella's eyes widened at that, but words didn't come out of her mouth.

"Get in," a furious voice commanded.

Now, let me tell you I'm not one to be easily scared of anything, but Edward's voice at seeing his human being threatened was something to be reckoned with. Bella looked at me for a moment, as if doubting whether or not I'd be alright if she left. Silly Bella, as if she could protect someone like me.

I flashed a brief smile at her, wanting her to be rest assured that I didn't need protecting. "I can take of myself, don't worry," I said soothingly.

Emmett moodily mumbled something that sounded like 'Sure you can', but if it was so low that I could barely pick up on it, I was more than sure that Bella couldn't have heard it.

"But you… them… how…?" Bella stuttered, still trying to make sense of everything.

"I promise I'll explain everything tomorrow," I assured her, desperately looking at Emmett for support. He gave me an exasperated look and sighed before he too tried to persuade Bella to leave.

"You should get in the car before lover-boy over there suffers brain damage," Emmett pointed out, eliciting a warning growl from Edward. Even in the grimmest situations, Emmett still found within himself the will to make fun of his adoptive brother, something which amused me to no end.

"I called Alice," Edward's voice stated calmly from behind us. "Carlisle should be here in fifteen minutes. Round them up. He'll know what to do after that."

I nodded and gave Bella a pointed look which finally persuaded her to get in the car. As Edward drove off, Emmett and I turned our attention to the group of four humans who had barely moved from their positions. Of course, it might have had something to do with my powers keeping them in place so that they couldn't run off.

Noticing my predatory smile, Emmett couldn't help but share my excitement. "You know, Eddie-boy said we had some time before Carlisle got here."

I immediately picked up on the meaning behind his words and wondered how on earth I could have gone so long without knowing him. "I call dibs on the stocky one."

**A/N: Sorry for taking so long! Med-school is hard you know! Long chapter to make up for it! Anyways thanks to all my reviewers! Please leave a comment! xoxo**


	22. Death Of Me

Chapter 21: Death Of Me

**A/N: Okay everyone, M rated chapter coming up! This is the first real lemon I've ever written, so excuse any possible crappiness! Don't like, don't read! Here we go! IMPORTANT A/N AT THE BOTTOM!**

"Come on, let Carlisle deal with them and let's just head home," Emmett's soft whisper flooded my brain as I regarded with contempt the scene before me.

After about five minutes alone with Lonnie and his gang of rapists – which was far more than they could take of me, but not enough for me to punish them to my heart's content – Carlisle had arrived to save the day, telling us to knock the men unconscious so that he could take care of the rest by himself.

Carlisle's plan consisted of injecting some hallucinogen on the men's bloodstreams so that they thought their encounter with Emmett, Edward, Bella and I had been an illusion and leaving them lying on the street for the police to find after an anonymous call tipped them of the wanted gang's location. I was unhappy with the scheme to say the least.

Those kinds of men, men like Lonnie and his friends, men who roamed the streets looking for unprotected woman who didn't stand a chance against them made me sick. They believed themselves to be powerful and untouchable because they submitted people who were physically weaker than them to their will, just like Kevin had done to me.

Needless to say, they brought out the deadliest part of me, one that I had forced to become dormant after the horrible day I had lost my best friend and any connection I might have held on to from my human life. I hated it; I hated how easily the sadist part of me could take over, demanding the violent death of the men in front of me; I hated the fact that, even before Carlisle arrived, I had already planned about a thousand scenarios that would end with the men's tortures and deaths.

For the first time after all the years I had spent away from Kevin and his newborn wars I felt like the monster I really was: bloodthirsty, vengeful and practically unstoppable. I wanted to rip those guys into pieces and burn them and, what was worse, I could've danced around the fire, singing and laughing, not regretting my actions for a second. To know that I could've taken human lives – of pitiful excuses for human beings at that, but humans nonetheless – without a hint of remorse scared me, not only because I usually thought every human life was worth protecting and should never be taken lightly, but because it didn't make me so different from those I so despised at the moment.

If I had to be honest with myself, the fact that they almost attacked Bella and I and imagining the things they could've done to us if I hadn't been a vampire wasn't the worse. I hated those men because of the things watching them made me think, because of the reactions they brought. Those men made me scared – an emotion I prided myself in almost never having felt – and, what was even worse, they made me dread myself and what I could become; I hated them for that.

"That's a good idea Emmett," Carlisle replied, probably sensing my thoughts and reading my expressions in a way someone with hundreds of years of experience could achieve. "Take Nicole to our house; Patrick and Sarah should be there by now."

"Come on, Nik." I felt Emmett's tug at my wrist, but was still too focused on imagining the burning embers of the men before me to care. I heard Emmett sigh and then felt my body being picked by his strong arms easily as the wind blowing around us indicated clearly that he was running. "It'll all be alright, Nikki, I promise," he whispered over and over as he ran while he placed random kisses on my forehead or stroked my hair delicately.

At any other moment, I would've been swooning over him or attacking him with kisses, but I found myself unable to feel or do anything. I was numb, my mind having finally caught on with what my body had desired to do only minutes before. I felt dirty, tainted, like the killer I was but only now admitted to myself of being. I wanted to hide in the darkest part of the forest and never come out; to starve myself to the point where I would be too weak to move and I would have to stay still for the rest of eternity, never dying but never having the chance to harm someone.

Only Emmett's arms around me prevented me from doing what I knew should've been done. I knew I had to die. All those years I had thought I had the perfect control over the bloodlust that came with being a vampire: I had never fed from a human, never harmed one and never intended to, but that day I realized I had been fooling myself. Maybe I didn't long for human blood as sustenance, but I had been more than willing to spill it for the sake of avenging all those women and the families that had suffered along with them at the hands of that gang: people I didn't even know. And that combined with my powers which made me practically unstoppable made me the most dangerous creature to be around.

But I was too selfish. Even when knowing all the damage I could cause, I still enjoyed my life too much. I was adamant to hold on to Emmett forever and I was reluctant to let the rest of the Cullens, Bella, Patrick and Sarah go without a fight, even when I knew I should've been going to the Volturi, begging for them to kill me and keep the world protected from me.

I was so consumed by my thoughts, I didn't even realize we had stopped moving and were standing not outside the Cullen's house, but mine. I looked up to find Emmett's soft, loving butterscotch ones glued to my face, taking in my every feature. I didn't deserve him. How could I when he was such a caring being and I was nothing more than a monster: cruel and heartless? His playful manners and loving personality had fooled me into thinking I could be healed and escape the darkness that had surrounded me since I had been turned but the events of the day had forced me to realize it had been wishful thinking from me. I couldn't escape the darkness when it was inside me.

"Stop," a powerful, demanding voice I wouldn't have recognized if I hadn't seen Emmett's mouth moving said. "I know what you're thinking and let me tell you: you're wrong."

"How can you be so sure of what I'm thinking?" I asked doubtfully.

"Because I know you better than you think I do," he shuddered, placing me on the floor but keeping his arms around my waist, successfully stopping me from stepping out of his grasp like I felt I needed to do. "Everyone thinks that just because I act childishly I'm actually clueless about everything going on around me, but the truth is I'm more observant than anyone gives me credit for."

His statement baffled me for a second, until I regained awareness of my feelings and thoughts. "If you're right and you _do_ know what I'm going through, then how can you possibly say I'm wrong? I'm a monster and that's all there is to this."

"Why are you so willing to punish yourself for wanting to hurt people that amuse themselves by ruining innocent girls' lives?" Emmett asked rhetorically.

"Because I would've enjoyed it!" I yelled at him, losing my cool completely and letting my rage at myself lash out at Emmett. "I could've torn them to pieces without feeling an ounce of regret for it!"

"So could I," Emmett replied calmly, baffling me completely. "And, unless you failed to notice Edward's expression, his thoughts couldn't have been more similar to ours."

"The fact that all of us felt the same way doesn't make it right," I said, shaking my head despite the small voice in my head agreeing with Emmett. "No matter what, death is never something that should be wished upon someone, even if we're talking about those horrible men."

"But, Nikki –"

"No, Emmett," I interrupted him, looking straight into his eyes, trying to convey all my emotional turmoil with just one look. "I've already been there, remember? For so many years, killing someone – taking a life – was so common it became routine and I promised myself to never, _ever_, go back to feeling that way."

"These aren't normal humans, Nicole!" Emmett snapped, his temper flaring like mine. "These are people that enjoy other's suffering; that have raped and scarred girls in the past and are likely to do it in the future. They are not innocent, defenseless humans. It is not wrong to feel like they deserve to be punished for what they did to others."

"Then why do I feel like a monster for even thinking about it?" I sniffed, feeling vulnerable and weak, lowering my head so that Emmett couldn't see the fear in my eyes.

He paused for a moment, considering the answer he should give me. I felt his arms disappear from around my waist, only so that he could place his hands delicately on the sides of my face as he used his thumb to rub my cheeks. "You are not a monster, Nikki," he whispered softly, while his hand moved to my chin to lift my head so that my gaze met his. "You're an amazing woman who has been through a lot more than the rest of us, but still managed to hold on to all her goodness despite all the evil in the world. You're a daughter who lost her parents before she was old enough to be completely independent; you're a sister who lost her brother when she most needed him only to find he wasn't really gone; and you're a young woman whose first impression of love was tainted by a man _I_ would have no problem in killing if we ever were to cross paths." I was really shocked by Emmett's words, never having expected something so deep to come from him, but loving him all the more for it. My dead heart swelled with each of his words and I had a hard time stopping myself from kissing the life out of him, something that would interrupt his beautiful speech. "You're the strongest, kindest and bravest woman I've ever met and I love you so _fucking_ much it pains me to see you thinking so lowly of yourself."

That was it. The dam broke and, before he could utter another word, I was kissing Emmett with all I had; pouring all the love and gratitude I was feeling towards him into a kiss that quickly became passionate and heated as Emmett's hands left my face and laid on the small of my back and cupping my ass, pulling me flush against him. My hands went around his neck and I lifted my legs so I could wrap them around his waist.

Emmett groaned into our kiss when my throbbing core ground against his hard erection and his mouth left mine to kiss and suck at the tender skin of my neck as he pressed us against the wall of the house. It took my hands tugging at the hem of Emmett's shirt for me to realize my body was acting completely without my mind's consent as my hands exposed Emmett's well-muscled chest and threw his shirt somewhere on my front porch.

"Inside," I panted before biting my lip to stop a moan as Emmett's hands slowly made their way from my knees and closer to where I wanted them to be. "My room."

He nodded while placing a searing open-mouthed kiss on the cleavage that was exposed by the sweater/dress I was wearing. In a flash, Emmett had carried me inside and thrown us onto my bed as I bit the skin of his earlobe earning a grunt from him. He smiled devilishly at me before kneeling by the bed and placing a small kiss on my left upper thigh, right before my high boot began. I moaned at the sensation of Emmett's lips so close to my pulsing sex and he smirked once more as he slowly undid the zipper of my boot, placing small and random kisses throughout the length of my leg and repeating the process to get rid of the other boot.

I stood up and ran my hands across his defined eight-pack, feeling the muscles clench beneath my touch. Emmett brought his lips to mine again and I continued to explore his chest, back and shoulders while our tongues battled for dominance. His hands, however, didn't remain unoccupied as they returned to the side of my hips and they hitched my dress higher and higher, exposing the black lace thong Alice had been adamant I wore. _She probably saw this was how my day would end. I should probably thank her later, _was my only coherent thought as Emmett's hands found my waist and stomach and glided sensually across them.

Acting daringly, I ground my hips against Emmett's erection; feeling oddly satisfied when he groaned in arousal and bit my lip. Apparently growing tired of the foreplay, Emmett's hands quickly got rid of my dress and, breaking the kiss, he took a moment to take me in, clad in nothing but a matching set of black lingerie. I smirked sexily at the dazed look in his eyes before strutting forwards and kneeling before him, placing a chaste kiss below his navel and lifting my hands to the fly of his jeans.

I heard Emmett trying to stifle a gasp when one of my hands ghosted across the noticeable bulge in his pants and smiled internally as I quickly got rid of them, his boxers following shortly and his hard cock released from the confine of his underwear. He groaned gutturally when one of my hands went around his member and started pumping while the other one toyed with his balls.

Looking up, I saw Emmett's head was thrown back in ecstasy while his hands held tightly onto my hair, thought never hard enough to become painful. I pumped faster, my fingers paying close attention to the small veins of his erection which I knew were bound to bring him greater pleasure. My motions were interrupted, though, when Emmett's hands moved onto my shoulders as he forced me to stand up, a predatory smirk on his face.

"Too many clothes," he grunted in his best caveman fashion before literally ripping off my bra and panties and moving his skilful hands to my aching breasts and it was my turn to throw my head back and moan throatily. One of his hands gently massaged my breast while he covered the other nipple with his mouth, swirling his tongue around it and taking me to the point where I couldn't take it any longer.

Using all my strength, I turned us around and pushed Emmett onto my bed, quickly following him as I straddled his waist and moved my heated core on top of his throbbing erection. He groaned in return and pushed me onto the bed, climbing on top of me, his cock ready at my entrance.

"Are you sure?" he asked hesitantly, his face showing nothing more that love and utter devotion. His hesitance was all I needed to remind myself of all the love I felt for Emmett and the certainty that he loved me as well.

"Yes," I panted, not trusting myself to say something more romantic in the state I was in.

He nodded in acknowledgement before pushing into me. I gasped at the feeling of his whole length inside of me and brought his lips to meet mine as he started thrusting in and out in a gentle, yet incredibly erotic pace.

Pleasure soon clouded my mind and Emmett was all I could think about: his hands on my chest and waist, the strength of his back muscles beneath my hands, his hips moving rhythmically against mine and my legs wrapped tightly against his waist, giving him a better angle and making us both gasp at the different sensations that invaded us at the same moment.

"Faster, Emmett, I'm – so – close…" I gasped, feeling the tightening in my stomach as I approached my peak. He dutifully obeyed and picked up his pace, doubling the pleasure I was feeling and pushing me closer towards the edge.

I came screaming out his name as my walls clenched around him before I felt his seed spilling inside me as his movements became gradually slower as we rode out of our orgasms. I looked right into his eyes to find them fogged up with both love and lust for me as he placed one gentler kiss on my swollen lips.

"I love you," he said assuredly, the sincerity in his eyes burning my insides to ashes as I literally melted in his heated embrace.

"I love you," I repeated, our lips meeting once more, the kiss quickly turning intense. "Ready for another round?" I asked with a devilish smirk.

"You're gonna be the death of me," Emmett sighed, rolling his eyes before his mouth was occupied once more.

Needless to say, we didn't leave my room for the whole night and Alice was considerate enough to keep everyone away from the house.

**VERY IMPORTANT A/N: Here it is! I hope everyone liked it, so tell me if you did! Reviews inspire me to write faster! A special thanks to FleurSuoh, Saiyuo12, Saki and cinders001 for being the only ones to review my last chapter, even when over 100 people read it!**

**This is how things are going to be from now on:**

**No reviews: no update**

**Less than 5 reviews: no update**

**From 5-10 reviews: short update (less than 2000 words)**

**More than 10 reviews: long update (more than 2500 words)**

**I know it's a little harsh, but frankly, I'm tired of seeing great stories with so many readers and reviewers when a lot of people have my story on alert and read it, but don't bother to review!**

**Needless to say, the more reviews I get, the faster the updates will be! Until the next time! xoxo**


	23. Not Made For School

Chapter 22: Not Made For School

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait! But I guess the 4500 words of this chapter make up for it! I'd like to thank mrhellfire Daddys little crazy bitch Kelsey-Short Olivia CrissYami RedShirt Squintiee cinders001 Deception is Decepticon SeekerRiddler synismysin Hao'sAnjul WhisperInTheRain and Saiyuo12 for their lovely reviews! 14 reviews guys! Keep up the good work! Hope you like this one! xoxo**

"Do you have any regrets?" I asked, twirling my fingers around his as we laid on my bed, still naked after about five or six rounds of heated sex. My head was propped against his chest under his chin and my other hand was tightly holding on to the arm that was wrapped across my waist. Looking out of the huge windows, I could tell dawn was approaching but, to be honest, I couldn't care less about the rest of the world as long as I got to be in Emmett's arms.

"None," he replied smugly, placing a small and tender kiss on the top of my head and drawing me tightly against his body while I took the chance to inhale his rich woodsy scent. "Everything I ever did brought me right here, to this moment with you. I wouldn't change that for anything, even if it meant making my wrongs right."

"I love that you are such an optimist," I confessed, snuggling my face into his marble-like chest and smiling happily. There might've been times when I hated my life, wanting nothing more than to be someone else, or to have never been born at all but being with Emmett, the prospect of spending forever with him, made everything I ever went through worth it.

"And I love you – forever," he promised.

"Forever," I agreed, lifting my face so I could kiss Emmett deeply on the lips. Another thing I loved about him; even after spending the whole night with him a single, simple kiss still caused my stomach to go all wobbly and stuff, something I wished would never go away, no matter how many years we spent together.

I was aware that we hadn't had an official talk about out futures, but I seriously doubted we ever would. Both Emmett and I were people of few words: we wanted, we felt and we acted; we didn't spend our time wondering about the consequences of our actions, we just did what we felt like doing. So, even when we hadn't had a serious conversation about our future, I knew both Emmett and I wanted us to be together. He was my mate – my real one – and I was his, and there was nothing in this world that would've been able to keep us apart.

"Okay, love birds; you've had your cuddling time. I need to get started on Nikki's hair now if she ever wants to be ready for school."

But Alice would be certain to put up a good fight.

Both Emmett and I groaned in frustration and held onto each other tighter, unwilling to let the little, obnoxious pixie shatter our moment completely.

"Go away," Emmett growled, using his two arms to engulf me possessively.

"Come on guys, how can you still be horny after having the whole night for yourselves?" Alice continued, pounding on the door but never opening it, probably knowing she would walk into some very naked and pissed vamps. "Just get moving!"

"Uhh, Alice!" I whined childishly, closing my eyes tightly and willing her to disappear with my mind only.

"I'm not going to go away until you drag your sorry behinds out of that bed and let me work my magic so that you can look perfect for school," she announced perkily and I tried to stifle a chuckle when I caught a glimpse of Emmett's frustrated expression. "And if you don't get on with it now I'll call Jasper. I'm sure he'll be more than willing to know why I had everyone going for an emergency hunting trip yesterday and you guys didn't join us."

As if she had just threatened him to get rid of all his videogames, Emmett hurriedly stood from the bed and was dressed into his pants from the night before in less than a flash. "I'm coming, don't call Jasper!" he begged, opening the door for Alice to see he wasn't just saying that so she would stop bugging us.

"Hey!" I protested, covering my bare body with the bed sheets and glaring at Emmett, who just threw a sexy smirk my way.

"Sorry, babe, but I'm sure you want a repeat of last night as much as I do, and I'm not too sure little Emmett will be up for it if your brother finds out," he apologized with a playful wink, obviously scared of losing his manhood at Jasper's hands as he looked around the room for something he couldn't find.

"Your shirt's lying in the front yard," Alice announced, happily skipping into the room, her arms filled with all her torture – sorry, _beauty_ – products, oblivious to my annoyed looks. "Go get changed for school and then bring Jazzy over here. We'll be taking one of Nikki's cars because Edward will be giving Bella a ride to school today. And no, you can't skip school today to stay locked in here, going at each other."

I snapped my mouth shut, my brilliant suggestion going to waste as Alice smiled brightly at me and Emmett seemed to be considering something. "Or we could just say you're feeling dizzy and that I'm taking you to the nursery and then we'll have a quickie in the janitor's closet."

"Me like that," I purred sexily, causing Emmett's eyes to darken with lust and Alice's expression to turn horrified.

"Alright, I think I might just barf," she claimed delicately, rolling her eyes at me before turning to Emmett. "Now off you go lover boy before I call Jasper and have him rip your little soldier off."

Emmett's eyes widened in fear and, in a flash, he was gone, though not before pecking me hungrily on the lips, a promise of what was yet to come. "Jeez, you guys are insatiable," Alice commented, not wasting her time and immediately starting to go through my closet while I playfully growled at her. "Oh, shut it, you know you love me."

"Yeah, in an 'I-wish-a-car-would-hit-you' kind of way," I quirked in sarcastically, putting on the set of matching underwear Alice threw at me. "By the way, thanks for the lingerie choice of yesterday. Emmett loved it."

"I knew he would," she said with a mischievous smirk. "And he'll love this one more, trust me." I inspected the bright blue set critically and, seeing nothing special about it, shuddered slightly, knowing it was better to never bet against Alice. If she said Emmett would like the underwear then I was going to trust her word for it. "Alright now, put these on."

She threw me a short, tube black skirt along with an off the shoulder white and blue shirt. She decided to pair everything up with ankle-length brown military boots as well as a jean jacket and big-hoop silver earrings. She then proceeded to force me to sit on the chair in front of my vanity and started attacking me with brushes, curling irons and make-up products.

"Voila!" she announced after an hour or so of incessant torture and she spun me around so I could take a look at her handiwork. My hair was done into a messy, yet stylish bun, with some strands falling casually to frame my face. My make-up was done lightly and just the way I wanted it to be: nothing except some eye-liner to bring out my eyes and a few layers of mascara. "Now, we are taking your Corvette, but I don't want you anywhere near an open window or you'll ruin your hair, got it?"

"Sure, sure," I said dismissively as I heard Jasper and Emmett running towards the house, laughing as they probably raced each other across the forest.

"Ugh, those two are like two-year-olds!" Alice huffed, storming out of the room and downstairs, with me following closely behind, glad that someone else would be getting an earful for a change. "What are you thinking? You'll completely ruin your clothes!"

Neither Emmett nor Jasper had the decency to look sheepish at all. My boyfriend was brooding moodily, a clear sign that he hadn't won if Jasper's smug smile didn't confirm it at first sight.

"Sorry, ma'am," my brother apologized politely, hugging Alice and pecking her on the cheek lovingly while I went towards Emmett and hugged his waist tightly.

"It's okay, baby, you're still the strongest," I reassured him, kissing him firmly on the lips. "And I like my guys with a whole lot of muscle."

"Your man might be the strongest and Edward may be the fastest, but my Jazzy can sit alone in a corner and still make you jealous," Alice proudly announced, defending her man's honor.

All of us laughed at her joke and slowly piled into my car with Jasper and Alice in the backseat while I rode shotgun because Emmett had decided he wanted to take my Corvette for a spin. It was a rather painful drive to the school, seeing that Emmett wasn't the best driver out there and, being a vampire, enjoyed speed a little bit too much, making me constantly nervous about the welfare of my beautiful car.

"You will stick to your Jeep from now on," I warned Emmett, hastily getting out of my car and examining the paint for any scratches which were, luckily for Emmett, nonexistent. "I don't want you anywhere near my car _ever_ again."

"But babe, forever's a _really_ long time," he pouted, getting out of the car while Jasper and Alice both laughed at my suffering. "You might change your mind."

"Don't worry, I won't," I assured him, glaring at his playful wink. "Not this century, millennia or the next million years."

"And after that?" he asked teasingly, placing an arm around my shoulders as he steered me towards the school building with Alice and Jasper trailing slightly behind.

"Ugh, stop being so irritating," I scolded, elbowing him in the gut and smirking evilly when I knocked the breath out of him – not that he needed it anyway. "You're so immature, Emmett Cullen."

"Then I guess I'm lucky you love me anyway," he shrugged, motioning with his head at Jessica Stanley, who was standing in front of the cafeteria's entrance, safely tucked under the roof's overhang. "I bet she's gonna drill Bella about her night with Edward."

"I should probably help her get out of it," I sighed, but smiled when I noticed Emmett's pout. "We can catch up during second period; I bet Varner won't even notice we're missing."

His pout turned into a smug grin as he pulled me into his arms, his lips hovering above mine and his cool breath making me go weak in the knees. "Go practicing your 'I'm-sick' look," he teased before crashing his lips down on mine. I kissed him back hungrily, eagerly opening my mouth when I felt his cold tongue licking my lower lip sexily.

"Could you two keep your thoughts PG for those of us who have to hear them?" Edward's voice asked from behind me, totally shattering the moment. Of course, I had heard Bella and Edward talking to Jessica a couple of seconds ago and had felt them coming closer to where Emmett and I were standing, but I was hoping he'd keep his trap shut.

"Sorry to pollute your virgin mind with my impure thoughts, Eddie-boy",I teased in a quick and soft voice no human could possibly perceive as I turned around to face the couple, not wanting to embarrass him in front of Bella. She was looking quite comfortable, standing close to three bloodsucker monsters, but I guess that's Bella for you: never one to realize the potential danger she could be in. She was glancing at Emmett with wonder and awe, probably analyzing his vampireness, but she looked at me the same way she did before, something that made me wonder whether or not Eddie told her about me being a vamp too, which, due to my lack of golden eyes and pale skin, wasn't that obvious to the eye.

"I thought you'd like to tell her yourself," Edward explained in a normal voice, putting the two of us in the spotlight.

"What are you talking about?" Bella asked, glancing between Edward and me in confusion and curiosity.

"Because that wasn't obvious at all," I sighed with a roll of my eyes before grabbing Bella's arm and leading her back towards the parking lot and my car. "I'm stealing your girl Eddie-boy. Hope you don't mind, 'cause if you do I don't give a flying shit."

Emmett and I both chuckled at Edward's irritated expression and I blew him a kiss as I searched for my car keys inside my purse.

"You do know we have class in less than five minutes, don't you?" Bella spoke slowly, as if talking to a mentally challenged person. I just rolled my eyes at her and opened the car, motioning for her to get inside as I sat behind the wheel.

"We're skipping first period," I replied simply, smirking at the shocked look that suddenly appeared on her face.

"We can't skip!" she hissed at me, panicking further when I turned the keys into ignition and drove out of my parking space. "We'll get in trouble!"

"No worries, Bellsy," I said with a playful wink as I accelerated. I wasn't planning on going anywhere in particular, I just thought the whole 'I'm a vampire' conversation would better be held somewhere far from teenagers eager for gossip. "I'll get you back unscratched, but we really need to talk."

"Couldn't you tell me whatever this is about during lunch?" Bella asked, hurrying to put on her seatbelt after taking one glance at the speedometer. "I mean, is it really necessary for you to kidnap me and get me into a car crash so early in the morning?"

I scratched my chin in mock thought for a moment before I turned back to talk to Bella with a smug smile on my face. "Yup."

"Could you at least watch the road? You're going to get us killed," she fumed, clinging onto her seat for dear life.

"Hey!" I protested. "How come you trust Edward when he drives and not me? I'm a much better driver than the ginger, not to mention a thousand times better looking." Okay, I was stalling and I knew it. Hell, I was surprised Bella didn't notice I was sprouting random things, trying to stop the conversation from taking place, but who could blame me? I was about to tell one of the only friends I've had in centuries that I was a bloodsucking monster, so I wasn't acting like your usual drama queen. The issue was quite serious, thank you very much. "Anyway, I think we should talk about what happened yesterday."

"What about it?" Okay, playing dumb was seriously not one of Bella's fortes, especially because I already knew she was as far as it got from uninformed. But hey, at least the girl was sure to keep the secret, right?

"Don't give me that shit, missy," I warned her with a serious tone that was completely ruined by the smile on my face. The fact that she was so willing to protect Edward, a vampire, gave me hopes that she would be able to accept me being one too. "Surely you must've put the pieces together by now, huh?"

"I can't really say I know what you're talking about," she said, though there was a slight hint of doubt in her voice and she was scrutinizing me curiously, as if wondering how much I knew about everything.

It would've been fun to mess with her by not giving her straight answers, but I decided to cut the slack so that we could go back to school and I could get to Emmett faster. "Well, I wouldn't be talking about Jessica's awful dressing choice when we were attacked by a gang of rapists yesterday and had to be saved by our vampire boyfriends, would I?" I asked sardonically, watching in amusement as Bella gaped like a fish, not knowing what to say.

"I – I didn't – think Emmett had told you about them," she finally managed to stutter through her surprise and shock.

The mere idea of Emmett, someone far younger and much less experienced than I was, telling me about the existence of vampires when I was actually the furthest thing from an average high school girl as it got had me shaking in laughter as I struggled to catch my unnecessary breath. Bella frowned in confusion; probably thinking I was insane for finding something remotely funny about the fact that vampires weren't as mythical as people considered them to be.

"S-Sorry," I got out after my laughing fit was over. Had I been human, I was sure I'd have tears rolling down my eyes in amusement. "You really have no clue, do you?"

"Okay, I really don't know what on earth you're going on about now," Bella sighed in exasperation, her scowl deepening when I pulled the car over one side of the road surrounded by the tall forest trees. "What are you doing?"

"I just don't want you to hurt yourself if you get scared and decide to jump out of the car," I shrugged, rolling my eyes at her glare that was practically screaming: 'spill!' "Impatient, aren't we? I really can't imagine how Edward got you to keep quiet so that you guys could have 'the talk'."

"Nikki!" Bella groaned, blushing furiously at the implications of my words, but still looking stern and determined to get the answers she was looking for.

"Alright, alright, jeez, does it hurt?"

"What?"

"The stick you've got shoved up your ass," I replied with a teasing smile that vanished instantly when I realized Bella wasn't pleased at all with my attempt at humor. "Okay, I'll tell you, but you have to promise not to run away screaming. That would really hurt my feelings."

"And why would I do that?" she asked, pinching the bridge of her nose like Edward did when he was frustrated and taking a deep breath to help her keep calm and to prevent her from trying to strangle me. I decided a picture was worth a thousand words so, closing my eyes in concentration, I allowed my human disguise to vanish. I could practically feel my skin losing its tan tone and become as pale as snow, my body becoming more graceful and model-like and, as I opened my lids, I knew the small golden flecks dotting the sapphire blue orbs had grown until my eyes were its usual butterscotch color. Bella's eyes widened in awe as she took in the changes in my appearance. "You're a vampire too."

"Umm… kind of," I shrugged, not knowing what to say as Bella's reaction was exactly the opposite of what I had expected from a human. She wasn't running, screaming for her life, but looked thoughtful, as if taking her time to take in what I had just confessed.

"How can you 'kind of' be a vampire?" she questioned, scrunching her nose in puzzlement at my stupid comment.

"No idea." I waved it off, wanting to know how she felt about the whole 'my-best-friend-is-a-bloodsucking-monster' thing. "Are you mad? Scared? I swear I won't blame you if you decide you never want to speak to me again. I'm a freak of nature, I know, but I can honestly tell you I've never killed any human or even tasted human blood and that I would never hurt you, so you shouldn't be scared, even though it'd be completely understandable, but –"

"Nikki, seriously, shut up, will you?" Bella interrupted, raising her hands in a soothing gesture. "Like I told Edward last night I have no problem with you lot being vampires and I don't think you're freaks, so don't call yourself that, okay? You could be a fairy or Harry Potter and you'd still be my best friend, so stop putting yourself down, okay? I'm not running away, so you might as well start the car and drive us back to school. I don't want to skip Government as well. It's bad enough that I already missed English."

"So, let me get this straight," I began as I did as she told me to do while I placed my human camouflage back on. "I tell you that I'm a mythical creature that feeds on blood and that I'm posing as an ordinary human at high school and all you can think about is making it in time for your second period?"

"What do you want me to say to that? I'm good with the weird," she excused herself with a small smile that reassured me that things would be fine between us. "So, are you going to tell me what happened yesterday after Edward took me away?"

I retold the story about what had happened the previous day and was amused, though not surprised, to notice that Bella gave more importance to my having sex with Emmett than the fact that I'd spent a good half hour torturing a gang of serial rapists before Carlisle arrived, drugged them and turned them in to the police. We made it to school gossiping like girly girls about the step Emmett and my relationship took the previous night and about my plan to pull us out of second period Spanish to have a rematch on a janitor's closet or something.

We stayed inside the car until the bell went off and I was forced by my overly-responsible friend to join the crowd of students walking to their next class so as to appear as if we had never left in the first place. We parted ways as she got into Government class and I went towards building two for Spanish sitting at Emmett's and my usual table and winking at my boyfriend as he walked into the room a few moments after me.

"I take it she took it just fine," he commented as he took his seat, noticing my bright mood, his expression turning mischievous within a second. "What's in it for me?"

"You'll have to wait and see," I purred seductively into his ear, hurrying to hide my head into my folded arms as the last of the students got in, followed by the Mrs. Goff when the bell rang. She quickly started passing roll on the students.

"Whitlock, Nicole?" she asked, her eyes roaming around the classroom as she looked for a raised hand. "¿Se encuentra bien, señorita Whitlock? _(Are you alright, Miss Whitlock?)_"

"Me duele la cabeza y me siento un poco mareada, ¿podría excusarme para ir a la enfermería? _(My head aches and I feel slightly dizzy, could you excuse me so I can go to the nursery?)_" I faked being ill like a pro and used the right amount of charm as I phrased my question. The other kids looked at each other in question, not understanding a word of what I was saying, but noticing my sickly pose.

"Por supuesto _(Of course)_," she replied hurriedly, looking truly concerned for my well-being and making me feel only the tiniest bit guilty for lying my way out of her class only so I could have sex with Emmett when we actually had an eternity to do so. "Señor Cullen, ¿podría usted acompañarla? _(Mr. Cullen, could you go with her?)_"

"Of course, Mrs. Goff," Emmett said politely, wrapping his arm around my waist and taking some of my weight, following my act perfectly. As soon as we were out of the room and the door was shut behind us, I felt a rush of air around me and, before I could realize it, Emmett was closing a door, effectively locking us inside the janitor's closet and leaving us in the dark.

"You should be in Broadway right now," he complimented before attacking my neck with his mouth as his hands roamed my body and mine responded accordingly.

"Who knows? Maybe I'm planning to leave you for the glamorous life of a Hollywood star," I gasped as Emmett sucked on the tender spot behind my ear. Leaving the joking aside, I hurried to slip my hands under Emmett's shirt, lifting it so that he could take it off and I could ran my hands freely through his well-built chest and stomach. He was quick to dispose of my shirt too and I had to stifle a laugh when I realized the reason for Alice's choice of undergarments for me.

"Why is your bra glowing in the dark?" Emmett asked in confusion, halting his assault on my shoulders to stare at the shiny material covering my breasts.

"Alice," I responded simply before pulling his mouth back to mine and groaning as he slipped his mouth between my lips as he deepened the kiss. God, I really liked skipping. I guess I just wasn't made for school.


	24. Important AN!

Not just another A/N, _the_ A/N!

To my faithful readers and followers of We Are Broken:

I'm terribly sorry to say that this story won't be continued, ever. And it's not just because med school is taking up most of my time, though it is, but also because I don't think it's fair to all the Twilight fans out there to be writing a story about this book when I don't even like the saga any longer. Even though I have nothing against the Twilight characters that star in my story, like Emmett and Jasper, my hatred for the rest of the Cullens – mainly Edweird – as well as Bella have made me completely despise everything Twilight related, something that was only increased by the knowledge that, thanks to the Twilight saga, people are being prejudiced against any and all vampire books out there, no matter how good they are – cough, Vampire Academy, House of Night, cough – and that I don't really consider Twilight a vampire novel – vampires don't sparkle people! – simply another teenage love-triangle between a stupid, dependent girl, an overzealous boyfriend and a best friend who can't get a clue. Plus, Breaking Dawn was nothing short of a joke with Jacob imprinting on the Devil Spawn and the final battle being avoided – no offense, but SM should get a few tips from the almighty JK Rowling!

Anyway, this is goodbye for the time being… at least until I manage to pass Anatomy!

Thanks for all the support you've given me for this story and I'm really sorry for letting you all down. If anyone would like to adopt We Are Broken you can PM me, but be warned that I'd like to see some of your work so that I can make sure your writing is good because, as much as I dislike Twilight, We Are Broken was my first story and I wouldn't want it to be a victim of bad grammar and dreadful spelling!

Until the next time! xoxo


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